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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
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Brave Deeds of 
Confederate Soldiers 



PHILIP ALEXANDER BRUCE, LL.D. 

Author of 

"ROBERT E. LEE." "THE RISE OF THE NEW 

SOUTH," Etc. 




PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 






Copyright, 1916, by 

George W. Jacobs & Company 

PMished October, 1916 



All rights reserved 
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OCT 25 1916 

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To 
H. Gerald Smythey Esq., 

of 
Tunbridge Wells, England, 

The Best Confederate of Them All 



'Ai 



Foreword 

In the composition of the present volume, I was 
indebted particularly to John Esten Cooke's Wear- 
ing of the Gray, and Col. Jennings C. Wise's Mil- 
itary History of the Virginia Military Institute, for 
the vivid impression which they gave me of the 
high, the gallant, and the romantic aspects of the 
Confederate Soldier's character. I was also in- 
debted to Mr. W. H. Sargeant, of the Norfolk 
Public Library, for numerous courtesies that facil- 
itated my use of the valuable collection of works 
relating to Confederate History now in his custody. 

P. A. B. 

Norfolk, Virginia. 
July 15, 1916. 



Contents 

I. Military Influences in the Old 

Southern Life 
II. Belle Boyd, the Spy . 

III. Up in a Balloon .... 

IV. Lieutenant Robins and the Vanguard 
V. The Marion of the West . 

VI. Morgan Crosses the Ohio . 
VII. The Boy Artillerist . 

VIII. MOSBY AND THE PARTISAN RaNGERS 

IX. Capture of General Stoughton . 



X. The Wagon Train and Greenback Raids 181 

XL Private Munson's Escape FROM Prison . 201 

XII. Adventures of a Scout , . . 227 

XIII. The Cadets' Baptism of Fire . . 255 

XIV. The Dash on Baltimore . . .281 
XV. Lieutenant Wise Carries the Message 

TO Lee ...... 301 

XVI. How THE Colonel Saved the Town 327 



Paob 
11 

31 
53 
73 
103 
115 
135 
155 
165 



Illustrations 

The Federal Rear Guard Had 

Just Crossed Over . . . Frontispiece 

Bryan Was to Use a Small Flag 

IN Signaling . . . Facing page 62 

The Column Was Turned 

Towards Buffington Island " " 122 

Poured One Shrieking Shell 
After Another Into This 
Mass " "152 

The Frenzied Drivers Cracked 

Their Whips and Shouted . " " 188 

For This Refuge He Made With 

All Speed ...."" 236 

They Leveled Their Guns at 

the Engineer . . , " " 290 

The Largest Store-house in the 

Town Was on Fire . . " " 334 



CHAPTER I 

Military Influences in the 
Old Southern Life 



CHAPTER I 

MILITARY INFLUENCES IN THE OLD SOUTHERN 

LIFE 

If any one of my readers could have mounted 
into an aeroplane in 1860, and taken a flight from 
the Potomac to the Rio Grande, he would have 
found himself throughout his aerial journey looking 
down upon a region on which nature had bestowed 
many striking features, but man only one. As he 
coursed along, he would have observed a land where 
agriculture alone had left a perceptible mark; but 
not such a mark, however, as to recall the well 
tilled countries of the Old World. The greater pro- 
portion of the landscape would have been seen to be 
overgrown with woods; open fields would have been 
discovered here and there on the uplands, and nar- 
row belts of ground in cotton, tobacco, or corn 
along the banks of all the streams; here and there 
the roof of a planter's mansion would have been 
detected peeping above the foliage of the trees; or a 
yeoman's humbler house shining on a bare hillside; 
or the cabins of the slaves nestling in the shadow of 
barns and stables. 

The spires of few large cities would have been 
seen, and only here and there the smoke from the 



14 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

chimneys of a country town. Still more rarely 
would lines of railway have been noticed. There 
were not enough of these lines to link up every 
corner of that almcjpt boundless rural region. It is 
true that the great divisions of the South were 
united by the locomotive, but vast areas were still 
remote from all facilities for transportation except by 
steamboat or batteau; the principal means of getting 
about, not only from neighborhood to neighborhood, 
but not infrequently from one important town to 
another, consisted still of the riding horse and the 
carriage; and for the accommodation of their owners, 
there were comfortable though primitive inns or ord- 
inaries at all the crossings of the principal public 
highways. 

The seclusion of the whole region left a very deep 
impression on the disposition of its inhabitants. In 
a general way, it fostered in them a passionate, an 
almost romantic, love of the soil; a love that was 
further intensified by their descent as a body from 
the original settlers of that part of the Union; for 
this meant that they and their forbears had been 
associated with it for many generations. Indeed, 
time had brought about a complete identity of 
feeling, sentiment, and points of view even where 
the earliest population was sprung from different 
European nationalities. The fact too that the vast 
majority of the inhabitants had been engaged in 



MILITARY INFLUENCES 15 

the same calling for so long a period had brought 
to bear a powerful influence to give the final touch 
to this homogeneity, which was to do so much to 
bind the people of the South together throughout 
the war. 

To a people like the Southern people, retired 
from the world at large, and in their family seats 
from each other also, home had a meaning far more 
sentimental than it has for a people who live in 
swarming cities, where a change of residence from 
one house or one street to another is a very common 
occurrence. Those homes in the Southern country- 
sides had, in most instances, come down from a dis- 
tant past; they were invested with the sacred inter- 
est of ancestral traditions and personal association 
alike; and were expected to descend to a remote pos- 
terity of the same blood, who, in their turn, would 
look upon them with the same affection. This love 
of the family centre was shared by the small and 
large land-owner equally, and was one of the strong- 
est ties that united all classes in the life of the gen- 
eral community. 

It was this love of home, with its thronging recol- 
lections of the past both near and far, — this clear 
vision of a house surrounded by ancient trees, per- 
haps, and standing in the midst of a wide rural 
domain, or of a few acres only, — that nerved the 
arm of many a Southern soldier and strengthened 



16 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

his soul in repelling invasion. Love of the South 
was inextricably mixed up with this love of the 
family hearth, whether imposing or humble in char- 
acter. Love of one particular spot, of one neighbor- 
hood, of one State, was the foundation stone of the 
love of the entire region which entered so deeply 
into the spirit of the Confederate soldier; and men 
who cared nothing whatever for the political causes of 
the war fought just as bravely as those who did, 
because they were animated by this intense local 
and sectional patriotism, which had been largely pro- 
duced by the retired country life that they had led 
on their own inherited estates, whether great or 
small in area. 

Another influence which more directly encouraged 
the military spirit arose from the fact that the 
people of the South, owing to their possession of the 
same economic and social system from the earliest 
Colonial times, only slightly changed by the adop- 
tion of a Republican form of government, were more 
keenly conscious of the traditions, customs, and 
habits of the historic past than the inhabitants of 
other parts of the Union, where there had been a 
vast industrial growth, a great accumulation of 
wealth, and a large addition of foreign citizens. 
Especially vivid was their recollection of the exploits 
of their fathers and grandsires in the different wars 
in which the United States had been engaged. By 



MILITARY INFLUENCES 17 

numerous firesides on plain and mountain as late as 
1860, stirring tales were related of heroic conduct 
and poignant suffering during the incursions of the 
Indians along the Southern borders. Many a soldier 
still survived who had followed General Jackson to 
the battle of the Horseshoe, and General Taylor to 
the skirmishes of the Everglades; while all the way 
down the Alleghanies, from the Holston to the Ala- 
bama, there were still pointed out the scenes where 
the men in buckskin, with rifle in hand, had as 
pioneers fought the cunning savages waving the 
tomahawk and the scalping knife. 

But the exploits of Marion and Sumter, Light 
Horse Harry Lee and Morgan, and many a local 
hero in the Revolutionary war, were narrated with 
still keener pride, and with quite as much familiar- 
ity as if those deeds of dazzling gallantry had been 
performed within the memory of the speakers. 
King's Mountain and the Cowpens were as well 
known in detail to the old men as to the brightest 
schoolboys, and added fuel to the patriotic ardour 
and the military spirit that were felt in mansion and 
log house alike. The victories of the Mexican cam- 
paigns were events of yesterday, and few Southern 
counties were unable to boast of a veteran who had 
marched in the ranks under Scott or Taylor. Many 
a newly built home beneath the Southern oaks and 
magnohas bore the name of Monterey, Resaca, 



18 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Montevideo, Buena Vista or Montezuma. Daredevil 
expeditions like those which the filibuster Walker, 
as brilliant an adventurer as Aaron Burr, led against 
Central America, aroused the warmest sjrmpathy 
and enthusiasm in the South, where their largest 
number of volunteers were obtained, because there so 
many men were animated by an irrepressible thirst 
for dangerous enterprises. 

It was due to this universal love of adventure, — 
this hunger for an active and stirring life, — that Sir 
Walter Scott enjoyed such extraordinary popularity 
in the homes of the Southern people. There were 
few libraries of importance among them that were 
lacking in those splendid volumes in which he has 
drawn such romantic pictures of the entrenched 
camp, the martial council, and the sombre castle 
swarming to the battlements with mail-clad defen- 
ders; or has described so vividly the headlong 
charges and the sword-to-sword clashes of the battle- 
field; or related so graphically the adventures of 
wandering soldiers of fortune in Highland glen or on 
the plains of France and Palestine. 

It was due to this military spirit, which found such 
pleasure in the books of the great Scottish novelist, 
that the tournament remained down to the beginning 
of the war one of the most popular kinds of amuse- 
ment in the South. It is true that this sport did 
not take the ancient form of a personal combat 



MILITARY INFLUENCES 19 

between knights-at-arm, but for clear sight, firm 
nerves, skillful horsemanship, and sheer physical 
strength, the tilting in a Southern field was almost 
as keen a test as the tilting in the lists of the Middle 
Ages. 

The prevalence of the duello was another indica- 
tion of the existence of the military spirit. It was 
considered by the gentlemen of the South to be the 
proper method of settling every bitter altercation 
which had ended in a personal insult, while with 
the lower orders of society in the same communities 
the duello usually took the form of a violent brawl, 
in which blood was apt to be shed without regard 
to the etiquette of the code. Men were aware that 
they would be held responsible in the duelling field 
for slander and calumny; and they also knew that 
they would be branded as cowards should they 
refuse a challenge. 

A more rational influence in encouraging the mil- 
itary spirit was the necessity imposed on the men in 
the secluded plantation houses of the South to 
defend the women and children of their families 
against possible attack or intrusion. Not only 
were these homes generally in a retired situation, 
but they were nearly always surrounded by numer- 
ous slaves, who, however peaceable they might appear 
to be, yet at any time might rise in revolt. There 
were no policemen at the next crossroads, who, by 



20 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

a blast upon a horn, could be summoned at once to 
give aid in putting down an insurrection. The 
fathers, the sons, and the husbands never for a 
moment forgot the vital fact that their own strong 
arms must be relied on first of all to save those 
dear to them from every kind of outrage, whether 
threatened by freemen or bondsmen; and this responsi- 
bility they did not fail to meet with a resolute spirit 
whenever they were faced by it. 

The military tendency was further encouraged 
by the zealous interest with which the muster had 
always been regarded throughout the South. In 
some measure, this was due to the presence of so 
many slaves. At regular intervals, every man 
capable of bearing arms was required to repair to a 
field, which, for many years, perhaps, had been 
chosen for the drilling. Here he and his companions 
were put through a series of manoeuvres; and, how- 
ever uncouth and awkward they might show them- 
selves to be, they at least were animated by the 
true spirit of patriotic soldiers. These musters had 
been begun in early Colonial times, and they con- 
tinued to be held down to the outbreak of the 
Civil War. They formed an instructive episode in 
the life of the community, for, by subjecting the 
men of the proper age to occasional military dis- 
cipline on a peaceful arena, it prepared them, in 
some degree, for the stern duties of real battlefields. 



MILITARY INFLUENCES 21 

These occasions were generally made more dis- 
tinguished, if not more informative, by the presence 
of a veteran officer, who had won a high reputation 
in some previous war. Whether a mere looker-on or 
a participant in the exercises, his share in the event 
gave it a more serious meaning from a military 
point of view at least. 

There were other influences, which less directly 
but not less thoroughly trained Southern men to 
play from the very beginning a vigorous part in the 
fighting on the battlefield, or in the marches that 
preceded or followed each conflict. For instance, 
the routine of their main occupation, agriculture, 
had a tendency to encourage in them a manly and 
hardy spirit because it required them to spend most 
of their time out of doors. They were unaccustomed 
to the inactive and sedentary employments of shop 
and factory, or to the sheltered existence of city 
pavements and tenements; their eyes, except at 
night, rested almost uninterruptedly on the open 
fields, the massive forests, the unrolled canopy of 
the sky; they were familiar with every aspect of 
the landscape as the hours of light and darkness 
passed over it, and with every mark which the dif- 
ferent seasons left on hill and vale and plain. Con- 
stant and prolonged exposure had hardened their 
frames to every sort of weather, — the driving rains 
of spring, the exhausting heats of summer, the chill 



22 CONF EDERATE SOLDIERS 

blasts and blinding snows of winter, — all had been 
faced and breasted with a spirit that was uncon- 
scious of discouragement or depression. Whether 
they were on foot or on horseback, they withstood 
nature's buffetings with an unshaken equanimity, 
for such vicissitudes were but the ordinary experi- 
ences of their daily lives; they knew the fields, the 
woods, and the streams in the vicinity of their 
dwelling houses as thoroughly as the scholar knows 
his books; and they felt as much at home in the 
most remote and secluded spots as they did in the 
chambers and halls of their own mansions, or in 
the narrow rooms of their own log cabins. 

The principal diversions of the Southern people were, 
with few exceptions, associated with this life in the 
open air, and partook of its free and manly nature. 
They had a particular fondness for hunting. Now 
to be a hunter is the first step to being a warrior. 
The wary aboriginal Indian, wandering through the 
primeval forests, was hunter and warrior at the 
same time; and it was the skill with bow and arrow 
acquired as a hunter, — it was the craft that he had 
learned as a woodsman, — which enabled him to 
carry off so many bloody scalps as a warrior. The 
huntsmen among the Southern people were not to 
be counted for their number. There were few young 
men who could recall the years of their earliest 
youth when they were unable at least to shoot off a 



MILITARY INFLUENCES 23 

gun. The father, returning home after a day passed 
in the stubble fields beating up partridges, rarely 
failed to require the small son, perhaps not ten 
years of age, to discharge his fowling piece; and 
should the little fellow be severely kicked, he was 
not permitted afterwards to show any fear when 
ordered to shoot a second time. Every mansion 
boasted of many guns of different sizes, and every 
log cabin of at least one, however ancient the 
pattern; and none were kept simply to ornament 
the trophy-covered walls, whether built of stone or 
common logs. 

The accuracy of the aim of these huntsmen was 
as perfect as long experience by flood and field 
could make it. The vastness and variety of the 
region of country which they tramped or rode over 
assured them all kinds of game ranging from the 
smallest to the largest. Birds and animals alike 
teemed in number. The long line of seacoast was 
haunted by flocks of ducks, geese, swan, and 
plover; the plain between the ocean and the Alle- 
ghanies by partridges, snipe, woodcock, wild turkeys, 
pigeons, and doves; and the mountains by deer, 
bear, and wildcat. Each season offered a special 
form of sport; and few forms failed to call for the 
possession of strength of body, keenness of eye, and 
patience of spirit in their successful pursuit. These 
qualities were especially required in the chase of the 
wild turkey, bear, raccoon, and fox. 



24 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

The vast Southern forests were frequented by 
numerous flocks of turkeys, one of the wildest and 
wariest of game birds, and only to be killed by the 
exercise of cunning and caution, and by the most 
unwearied energy on the part of the hunter. This 
was the school in which some of the most famous 
scouts of the Southern armies learned their art of 
successfully following up the enemy. 

There was far more danger in the pursuit of the 
bear, which was found in the swamps and cane- 
brakes of the lowlands as well as in the remotest 
mountains. Many hours were passed in the forests 
in the search for it; the parties camped out at night; 
and the hunt was kept up all day without regard to 
the roughness of the country. 

A taste for life in the open air, indifference to 
personal risks, and forgetfulness of continuous 
physical exertion, were also instilled by the pursuit 
of the raccoon, although in itself a harmless animal. 
It is true that the only danger in such a pursuit 
arose entirely from the darkness, in consequence of 
which casualties from falling trees, snakebites, and 
plunging into deep bogs were likely to occur; but 
the hunters were always drawn far into the woods, 
and thus learned to know the forest as well under 
its nocturnal appearance as under its aspect during 
the day. 

Still more productive of a bold spirit and vigorous 
frame was the sport of fox hunting, which was 



MILITARY INFLUENCES 25 

popular in all parts of the South with every class 
in the community. The wild gallop with horns 
and hounds over the rough face of the country, 
with its hills and valleys, bare fields, and thick 
woods; the continuation of the pursuit from the 
gray of the morning until a late hour in the night, 
and its frequent resumption at dawn for a second 
day's run; the indifference to the character of the 
weather in the enjoyment of the sport — all this was 
excellent practice for fitting the young men for the 
requirements of service in the cavalry. 

The universal love of the horse in the South, and 
its constant use for recreation or display, was also 
promotive of the military spirit. As from childhood 
almost every boy knew how to shoot a gun, so from 
the time he had the length of leg to bestride a 
saddle, he was able to ride. While still a little 
fellow, he would perch up behind the negro stable- 
man when the horses were taken to water in the 
morning or at night; and he soon acquired sufficient 
confidence to ride his own pony, the first step to 
mounting a larger animal. 

Before the Civil War, most of the Southern boys 
obtained the rudiments of their education in what 
was known as the old field school because situated 
in some retired spot equally distant from the differ- 
ent homes in the neighborhood. Very often, the 
only way of reaching this school was by a narrow 



26 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

bridle path through the woods. Hither came the 
boys on horseback five mornings of the week in all 
sorts of weather, at every season of the year; nor 
were they always content to let their steeds walk or 
jog quietly along — many a race was run under the 
bower of forest leaves, in which skill was necessary 
to avoid the trunks of trees that sprang up along 
either side of the way. 

There were numerous other opportunities of be- 
coming proficient in the art of riding; every Satur- 
day was a holiday, and from morning until darkness 
came on, the boys were using their horses either in 
hunting in the fields and forests or in travelling to 
some distant mill-pond fatuous far and wide for perch 
and mullet. Every one of them looked upon him- 
self as fully able to break in a young colt however 
raw and fractious it may have come from the pas- 
ture; and many a young fellow was seriously in- 
jured by his reckless indifference to the dangers of 
mounting such a wild beast before its spirit had been 
even partially broken. 

This knowledge of horseflesh, this love of eques- 
trian exercise, was never lost by the Southerner, 
however old he might grow. Though he might be 
poor in a property sense, it was not often that he 
did not own at least one horse, which served both 
as his helper in working the tobacco lots and cotton 
fields, and as his carrier in visiting neighbors, at- 



MILITARY INFLUENCES 27 

tending church, or moving about the countryside on 
business. He rode to the distant county seat to be 
present at the sessions of court; and it was on horse- 
back too that he travelled to political barbecues 
and religious camp meetings. There was no public 
occasion in his life, indeed, which did not permit of 
this means of locomotion; in fact, at certain seasons 
of the year, the roads were hardly passable with 
ease except by persons on horseback; and this cus- 
tom led many women to acquire the like skill so 
that they might not be impeded in getting about 
their neighborhoods. 

The planters took great pride in the pure blood 
of their horses; skilled attention was everywhere 
given to horse breeding; and universal interest was 
felt in racing. Many large estates possessed a 
private course laid off with more or less exactness; 
there was a public track in nearly every county, 
where trials of speed came off each year, with 
crowds of people in attendance; while one of the 
principal features of every agricultural fair was the 
succession of heats run by horses that enjoyed a 
reputation for fleetness throughout that part of the 
South. 

With all this knowledge of horseflesh and skill in 
horsemanship, was it strange that the Southern 
States should have produced so many brilliant cav- 
alry leaders during the Civil War? The fact had 



28 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

been noted from the first years of the West Point 
Military Academy that the cadets appointed from 
the districts between the Potomac and the Rio 
Grande were especially proficient in horsemanship 
as a part of their course of study; and they were 
thus accomplished because they had been brought 
up to love horses and had become expert long before 
they were leaping the hurdles in the riding school on 
the Hudson. The cavalry was the favorite arm of 
the Confederate service; the arm which all would 
have preferred to join; the one arm for which even 
the soldiers in the infantry had been trained in the 
first great essential by constant previous exercise at 
their own homes. Wheeler, Fitzhugh Lee, Hampton, 
Forrest, and Stuart were the most famous officers of 
the cavalry corps, but behind those gallant cavaliers, 
there rode thousands of men, not only fully as gal- 
lant as they were, but also from their earliest boy- 
hood just as deeply versed in horsemanship. Again 
and again, in the midst of flying bullets, while the 
musketry was crackling and the cannon reverberat- 
ing to the sky, the song rang out gaily from many 
a brave lip: 

"If you wish to have a good time, 
Come jine the cavalry, come jine the cavalry." 

That song was the favorite air of Stuart, who 
summed up in his dashing and chivalrous personal- 



MILITARY INFLUENCES 29 

ity, not only the finest qualities of the fearless and 
stainless soldier, but also the boldest characteristics 
of a horseman who has passed almost his entire 
life in the saddle. 



CHAPTER II 
Belle Boyd, the Spy 



CHAPTER II 
BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 

During the early months of the war, the lower 
valley of the Shenandoah was the scene of unusual 
activity on the part of Southern spies, whose zeal- 
ousness was very much encouraged by the conditions 
which prevailed there throughout that period. First, 
the people living in this corner of Virginia were 
almost fanatically loyal to the Confederate Govern- 
ment, and they were so, not only because the most 
influential citizens were descended from the oldest 
families in the State, but, above all, because persons 
of every class had been violently alarmed and em- 
bittered by the John Brown Raid, which, had it 
succeeded, would have plunged them into all the 
horrors of a slave insurrection. 

In the second place, the entire region was con- 
stantly passing from the hands of the Confederates 
under the control of the Federals or the reverse. 
Now the Northern army would advance from Har- 
per's Ferry as far as Winchester and Front Royal; 
then the Southern would suddenly face about and 
drive them back, and in their turn take possession 
of these towns; which, in a short time, would be 
abandoned, only to be reoccupied by the Federal 



34 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 



troops. One week, a family would find their home 
subject to the daily inspection of the Federal pro- 
vost-marshal; the next they would be receiving 
friendly visits from distinguished Confederate officers. 

In the light of the local devotion to the Confed- 
erate cause, and also of these opportunities to col- 
lect and report information of high value from a 
military point of view, it was natural that there 
should be spies in every neighborhood, who would be 
furtively engaged in transmitting such information 
to General Jackson, who was opposing the Federal 
armies in that part of Virginia. 

The most famous of all these spies was Belle 
Boyd, the daughter of " a Confererate officer, who 
was the head of a wealthy and widely connected 
family residing at Martinsburg, a town situated not 
far from Harper's Ferry. She was just seventeen 
years of age when the war broke out and had only 
recently left the schoolroom. Beautiful, intelligent, 
and high-spirited, and passionately loyal to the 
Confederate cause, she was as cool in courage and 
as firm in purpose as the bravest soldier on the 
battlefield. 

When General Shields occupied Front Royal, he 
took possession of the home of Belle Boyd's grand- 
mother, who resided there, and made it his head- 
quarters. There was a small cottage within the 
enclosure, and to this the members of the family. 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 35 

among them Belle Boyd herself, withdrew. Having 
become an object of suspicion to the Federal author- 
ities in Martinsburg by their seizure of a letter 
which she was about to send to General Jackson, she 
found herself so closely watched there that she de- 
cided to visit her relations in Front Royal. She 
soon got on an easy and friendly footing with the 
Federal commander, a genial Irishman, and took 
advantage of her constant association with him and 
his officers, to pick up information of importance. 
Committing it to paper from day to day, she dis- 
patched note after note to the Confederate leaders 
by means of a messenger on whose fidelity she knew 
she could rely. She did not always use a cypher, 
and made no effort to conceal her handwriting. 
After some time so taken up, she concluded that she 
could further aid the Confederate cause by going in 
person to Richmond. 

"General," she said to General Shields as soon as 
she saw him again, "I want you to give me a pass- 
port to Richmond." 

General Shields laughed at her for making such 
a request, and indulged in a good deal of badinage 
at her expense. 

"Old Jackson's army," he said, "is so demoralized 
that I dare not trust you to their tender mercies. 
I will annihilate those rebels in a few days, and then 
you can go where you choose." 



36 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

General Shields had now determined to advance 
and attack the Confederate army encamped at a 
point further south. The night before he set his 
troops in motion, he held a council of war at his 
headquarters in the Boyd residence. Belle Boyd, 
who had been daily passing backward and forwards 
between the mansion and the cottage without being 
questioned, had frequently visited a bedroom, well 
known to her, situated just above the apartment 
where the council was to meet, which happened to 
be the drawing room of the house. In rummaging 
about the closet, she had noticed a hole in the floor, 
through which the sound of voices in the room 
underneath could be easily heard. Indeed, it was so 
large, that, placing her eye over it, she could with- 
out difficulty make out any person who might be 
seated below. 

The night the council came together, she was talk- 
ing with some of the officers in the drawing room, 
and finding that a council was about to be held, 
she retired, but instead of leaving the house and 
going over to the cottage, she quietly ascended the 
stairs to the bedroom, and entering the closet, and 
lying down flat on the floor, she placed her ear at 
the hole and distinctly caught every word uttered 
by the men assembled around the table below. The 
discussion did not come to an end until one o'clock 
in the morning, but during the long hours it was 
carried on, she did not change her position. 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 37 

The council broke up and the officers withdrew 
from the house to their own quarters. When silence 
had again fallen, Belle Boyd stole from the closet, 
descended the stairs on tiptoe, unbolted the door 
without noise, and passed with quiet steps across 
the threshold to the yard without. On reaching her 
own room in the cottage, she took down in cypher 
the information about the Federal plans which she 
had just obtained. Without resting a moment or 
securing a morsel of food, she ran to the stable, and 
leading out and saddling one of the horses, mounted 
and rode off at a gallop towards the nearest moun- 
tains. 

Fortunately for her, she had not forgotten to 
bring with her several passports which she had asked 
of General Shields to enable some of her Confeder- 
ate friends to get through the lines. She had not 
gone far when she was challenged by a Federal 
sentinel, and was only permitted to continue her 
journey after her passport had been shown and ex- 
amined. This happened to her several times, until, 
having left all the pickets behind, she was at liberty 
to ride on without further interruption. 

In order to be more secure, she deserted the road 
and entered the fields, through which she moved 
rapidly in spite of the darkness. She had covered 
fifteen miles of ground when she found herself in 
front of the house of a friend whom she had often 



88 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

visited. Not a single light was to be seen in any of 
the windows owing to the lateness of the hour. 
Leaping from her saddle, and not stopping even to 
tie her horse, she ran up the steps, and with the butt 
of her whip pounded violently on the door. No 
response was made to the blows at first. 

"Is it possible," she thought to herself, "that 
there is nobody at home!" 

She knocked more vigorously. She called. Then 
a voice was heard from the depths within: 

"Who is there?" 

"It is I." 

"But who are you? What is your name?" 

"Belle Boyd. I have important intelligence to 
communicate to Coionel Ashby. Is he here?" 

"Wait a minute, I will come down." 

When the person who had been speaking opened 
the door, his first question was: 

"How on earth did you get here?" 

"Oh, I forced the sentries. But I have no time 
to talk. Tell me where Colonel Ashby is to be 
found?" 

Hardly had she spoken when a door suddenly 
opened and Colonel Ashby himself stood before her. 

"Good God, Miss Belle," he exclaimed, when he 
recognized her, "where did you come from? Have 
you dropped from the clouds? Or am I dreaming?" 

"You are awake and I am not an angel from 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 39 

heaven," she replied laughingly; and then quickly- 
becoming serious again, she repeated to him all that 
she had overheard of the decisions arrived at by 
the council. She handed him the memorandum in 
cypher, which she knew he was able to translate, 
and mounting her jaded horse, bade the dashing 
Confederate officer, who had not yet fully recovered 
from his astonishment, a gay farewell and started 
on her return through the fields by which she had 
come. After a ride of two hours, she reached the 
neighborhood of the town, where there was danger 
of her being stopped and arrested by the sentinels; 
but she ran only upon one, and he was so fast 
asleep that she succeeded in galloping by him before 
he could shake off his slumber and raise his gun to 
shoot. Having unsaddled and fed her faithful horse, 
she turned into bed just as dawn began to break. 
That day. General Shields, at the head of his troops, 
left Front Royal in search of Jackson, with the un- 
successful result that is recorded in history. 

After the departure of the Federal army. Belle 
Boyd applied for a passport that would permit her 
and a cousin to visit Winchester. The passport was 
promised by the provost-marshal, but when the 
carriage rolled up to the door next morning, the 
document had not been sent by him; and it was 
reported that he had left town on a scouting expe- 
dition. A Federal lieutenant whom they knew came 
to where the ladies were impatiently waiting. 



40 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"You profess to be a great friend of mine," said 
Belle Boyd to him, "now prove it. Pass us through 
the pickets." 

The yoimg officer hesitated a moment; then 
bidding them enter the carriage, promised that he 
would accompany them the entire way to assure 
their safety. Arriving in Winchester, the whole 
party decided to remain there over night. Some 
hours before they were to leave next morning, a 
gentleman came to the house where the ladies were 
stopping. Handing two packages of letters to Belle 
Boyd, he said to her: 

"Will you see that these packages are got through 
the lines to the Confederate army in the Valley? 
This package (pointing to one of the two) is of 
great importance. The other is trifling in compar- 
ison." 

Taking from his pocket a small note, 

"This," he said, "is an important paper also. 
Please endeavor to have it forwarded to General 
Jackson. Do you understand?" 

"I do," she replied, "I will obey your order 
promptly and implicitly." 

The most important package she concealed about 
the person of her negro maid, as she was confident 
that a black woman would not be searched. The 
other one she dropped into a small basket which she 
was taking with her. On it she had written: "By 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 41 

the kindness of Lieutenant H." She hid the note 
in her own bosom. 

She decided that, before she should set out, it 
would be more prudent to obtain a passport from 
the officer in command of Winchester, Colonel Fille- 
browne, which would enable her to return safely to 
Front Royal whether Lieutenant H. should accom- 
pany her or not. How was she to secure it? Was 
she not the notorious rebel spy. Belle Boyd? She 
went to a florist who had a shop nearby, and pur- 
chasing a very handsome bouquet, sent it, "with 
her best wishes," to the Federal commander; and 
she accompanied it with the request that he would 
allow her, by his express order, to return to her 
relatives in Front Royal. The passport was 
promptly dispatched to her, with a polite letter, in 
which "the dear lady" was thanked for "so sweet 
a compliment." Lieutenant H. having now joined 
the cousins and their maid, all started together on 
the return journey. On arriving at the picket line, 
two determined looking men stopped the carriage. 
They were really detectives. 

"We have been instructed," said one of them 
looking through the window at Belle Boyd, "to 
arrest you." 

"For what?" she boldly inquired. 

"You are charged with carrying letters of im- 
portance to the enemy," was the reply. 



42 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

The coachman was ordered to turn the carriage 
around and drive back to Winchester. The two 
detectives rode on either side of the vehicle all the 
way. When the party entered the office at head- 
quarters, the cousin and the maid almost sank to 
the floor with fright, but Belle Boyd showed no 
discomposure whatever. 

"Have you any letters about you," was the first 
question put to her by the provost-marshal in his 
sternest voice. Feeling sure that she would be 
searched should she answer in the negative, she 
simply stooped down and took from her basket the 
package on which she had written the words: "By 
the kindness of Lieutenant H.," and handed it to 
the officer with a low bow, but without uttering a 
word. 

"'By the kindness of Lieutenant H!'" he ex- 
claimed in angry tones when he had read the super- 
scription, "what does this mean? Have you any 
other packages or letters?" 

"Look for yourself," replied Belle Boyd coolly, 
and she turned the basket upside down so that its 
contents fell in confusion to the floor. Lieutenant 
H's face suddenly blanched, for he remembered that 
he had a second package, which Belle Boyd had 
taken from the maid and given to him while the 
carriage was on its way back to Winchester. He 
drew it from his pocket and placed it on the table; 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 43 

to his consternation, this package also was inscribed 
with the words "By the kindness of Lieutenant H." 
When opened, it was found to contain copies of a 
newspaper which would have conveyed to the Con- 
federates information of great value. In vain both 
Belle Boyd and the Lieutenant asserted that he knew 
nothing of the character of its contents when the 
package was delivered to him; the provost-marshal 
looked at her sternly and took no notice of the dis- 
claimers of herself and her companion. 

"What note is that you have in your hand?" he 
demanded. 

"This little scrap of paper?" said Belle Boyd in- 
nocently. "You can have it if you want it. It is 
nothing. Here it is." She appeared to be about to 
hand it to him, but in reality she had made up her 
mind to swallow it. Just as she was about to raise 
it to her mouth to do so, the provost-marshal's 
attention was diverted to his subordinate, and he 
forgot, in his renewed indignation over that officer's 
supposed treasonable conduct, the existence of the 
important letter to Jackson, which was almost 
within his grasp. The curious manner in which 
Lieutenant H. was involved in the transmission of 
the packages alone saved Belle Boyd from the punish- 
ment that would have certainly followed from her 
possessing such compromising documents. 

A few days afterwards, she was sitting in her room 



44 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

at Front Royal quietly reading to her cousin and 
grandmother, when her negro maid rushed in. 

"Oh, Miss Belle," she exclaimed, "I tink de rebels 
are a comin' for de Yankees am makin' an awful 
fuss in de streets." 

Belle Boyd sprang to the window. The servant 
was right — the street was in a state of great con- 
fusion; men were shouting and vehicles were jammed 
together. There was plainly some extraordinary 
cause for alarm. 

"What is the matter?" she called to a Federal 
officer whom she knew as she saw him passing. 

"The Confederates under General Jackson are 
approaching," he replied* "They are driving back 
the pickets and are now within a mile of the town. 
We are trying to get the ordnance and quarter- 
master's stores out of their reach." 

"But what will you do with the stores in the 
large depot?" asked Belle Boyd. 

"Burn them, of course," replied the officer. "If 
the rebels come up too quickly for us to do so, we 
will fight as long as we can, and if defeated, retreat 
to Winchester, where we will join General Banks. 
We will burn all the bridges behind us." 

It happened that, at this moment, Belle Boyd was 
in the possession of the following military facts 
known only to the Federals: General Banks was 
stationed at Strasburg with four thousand men; 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 45 

General White could quickly march up to Winchester 
from Harper's Ferry and reinforce the Federal troops 
in that town; Shields and Geary were posted not 
far below Front Royal; while Fremont had not yet 
arrived in the Valley. How was she to send this 
information to General Jaclson? The note received 
at Winchester had also to be forwarded to him. If 
he failed to get both, he might fall into the trap 
which the combined Federal commanders had set for 
his destruction. All were to converge to catch his 
army in their coils. 

She went to the drawer and took out a pair of 
opera glasses which she kept there, and through 
these she could plainly descry the Confederate 
vanguard approaching at a distance of three-quarters 
of a mile. There was no time for her to lose if she 
was to communicate with Jackson. Descending to 
the lower floor in great haste and opening the front 
door of the house, she saw standing on the pave- 
ment a small group of men who had often spoken in 
her presence of their devotion to the cause of the 
South. Beckoning them to her side, she said in a 
low voice: 

"Will any one of you carry to General Jackson 
information I have collected which may save his 
army?" 

They positively refused to undertake so danger- 
ous a mission. 



46 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"You go, you go," they cried out as if with one 
voice. 

Perceiving that she would gain nothing by impor- 
tuning them, she turned and went back into the 
house determined to carry the message herself, in 
spite of the perils which she knew she would have 
to face. Having put on a white sunbonnet, she 
went into the street, and as she passed down it on 
her way to the road leading in the direction from 
which Jackson was approaching, she had to meet the 
questioning gaze of hundreds of Federal soldiers; but 
as the town was still in a state of great disorder, 
no one stopped her to inquire about the purpose of 
her movements, although she was as much as ever 
under the ban of suspicion. Leaving Front Royal 
behind, she decided to turn from the road into the 
open fields in the hope that she would be able to 
conceal herself there until the Confederate troops 
should come up and protect her. There was, how- 
ever, not enough cover to hide her from the eye, 
especially as she was wearing a white apron over a 
dark blue dress; and her bonnet also was of the same 
conspicuous color. She could, in reality, be easily 
seen at a very considerable distance. 

All this time she could hear the loud firing that 
was going on between the two hostile forces. The 
Federal artillery had taken position on a height that 
commanded the whole length of the road along 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 47 

which the Confederate army was advancing to the 
attack, while a large body of Federal infantry had 
made a fortress of the hospital, and were pouring a 
heavy fusillade of musketry from its windows. This 
was responded to hotly from the Confederate side, 
and the din was rapidly increasing in intensity. The 
Federal pickets, out-numbered, began to fall back, 
and as they did so, they saw Belle Boyd running 
across the fields and they opened fire on her. Balls 
soon were hitting the ground about her feet and 
passing alarmingly close to her head. The Federal 
soldiers in the hospital followed the example of the 
pickets, and in a few minutes Belle Boyd's clothes 
were pierced by bullets in several places, but fortun- 
ately for herself, she was not struck in the body. 

To increase the perils of her situation, many of 
the shells in the cross fire between the Federal and 
the Confederate batteries, burst over her and scat- 
tered their fragments in every direction. Suddenly 
a Federal shell came to the ground within twenty 
feet of where in her bewilderment she had momen- 
tarily stopped, but she had the presence of mind to 
throw herseK flat on the earth before it exploded; 
and when it did so, she was covered with the flying 
dirt which it raised. Leaping to her feet immedi- 
ately after the concussion she ran forward at the 
top of her speed, while the musket balls still hurtled 
about her and the shells continued to scream in the 



48 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

air overhead. She felt that, not only was she in 
imminent danger of being killed, but also her death 
might mean the complete entrapment of the Con- 
federate army. Through the open fields she almost 
flew, and when she came to a fence that stood in 
her way she threw herself over it with the agility 
of an athlete. 

Not long after leaving the fence behind, she caught 
sight of the gray Confederate ranks, and she began 
at once waving her bonnet alternately towards them 
and towards the town. In response, the troops 
raised a loud cheer, and with a quickened step con- 
tinued their advance, and as they went by her, a 
second cheer, louder than the first, broke from their 
throats. 

"Were these all the forces which General Jackson 
could bring to the attack?" she asked herself in con- 
sternation, as she saw the men move past the spot 
on which she was standing. It was impossible for 
so few to outmatch the Federal armies in the neigh- 
borhood of Front Royal. Had she made the night 
ride to Colonel Ashby's, and was she now exposing 
herself to such peril, simply to lure these gallant 
men to their certain destruction by a superior foe? 

She was so overcome that, sinking to her knees, 
she uttered a fervent prayer for their deliverance. 
Rising from the ground, she saw to her great relief 
the main body of the Confederate forces emerge 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 49 



from behind a hill, which had, up to that time, 
hidden them from her sight. As the van approached, 
she was recognized by an officer who was a friend 
and connection of her family. Major Douglas of the 
Maryland line. 

"Good God, Belle," he exclaimed as he rode up, 
"You here! What in the name of Heaven do you 
want?" 

"Oh, Harry," she gasped, "give me time to get 
my breath!" 

Having recovered her breath, she imparted as 
quickly as possible all the information which she had 
been able to gather about the positions of the Fed- 
eral troops; and also handed to him the note which 
she had received in Winchester. She urged that the 
cavalry should be sent forward at once to seize all 
the bridges over the Shenandoah below the town 
before they could be destroyed, as she had been 
told they would be, by the withdrawing Federals. 
Major Douglas returned to General Jackson at a 
gallop to report what he had heard, and in a short 
time, Jackson, accompanied by Douglas, rode up, 
and having questioned her closely, offered her a 
horse and military escort to insure her getting back 
safely to town. 

The cavah-y reached the first bridge barely in 
time, — the Federal rear guard had just crossed over 
and had already lighted the match which was to 



50 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

explode the heavy charges that had been placed 
under the stone arches. The other bridges were also 
saved by equal promptness. When Belle Boyd 
arrived at her home, the main Confederate army 
was filing through the streets, and as they caught 
sight of her on her doorstep, they raised a cheer in 
her honor. Although they were greatly exhausted, 
they pressed on in the track of the retreating Fed- 
erals towards Winchester; Banks was compelled to 
withdraw to the other side of the Potomac; and the 
whole plan of the Federal campaign was thrown into 
confusion. 

Two incidents are recorded which show how clearly 
the officers on either side recognized the importance 
of the information which Belle Boyd had either 
given herself or conveyed for others for the guidance 
of the Confederate leaders. 

When the Confederate army, following up Gen- 
eral Banks, approached Winchester, Colonel Fille- 
browne, who, as we have seen, was in command 
there, began very hastily to gather together all his 
effects, and whilst he was doing this, a Southern 
friend of Belle Boyd entered the room. 

"Colonel," he exclaimed, "how on earth did you 
get into this trap? Did you not know that Jackson 
was advancing?" 

Colonel Fillebrowne pointed to the bouquet on the 
table which Belle Boyd had sent him only a few 
days before. 



BELLE BOYD, THE SPY 51 

"That bouquet," said he sadly, "did all the mis- 
chief. The donor of that gift is responsible for all 
this misfortune." 

The other incident which represents the reverse 
side of the shield, was the reception by her of the 
following note: 

May 22, 1862. 

Miss Belle Boyd, 

I thank you for myself and for the army for the 
immense service that you have rendered your coun- 
try today. 

Hastily, I am your Friend, 

T. J. Jackson, C. S. A. 



CHAPTER III 
Up in a Balloon 



CHAPTER III 
UP IN A BALLOON 

In the spring of 1862, General Magruder, who 
commanded that part of the Confederate forces 
known as the Army of the Peninsula, expecting a 
Federal assault from Old Point, threw up a formid- 
able line of breastworks all the way from Yorktown 
to the margin of James river. The course selected 
for this line gave the entrenchments additional 
strength, for it followed the trend of certain out- 
tanding physical features of that region, such as 
streams, swamps, and millponds, by which its sur- 
face was very much varied. 

General McClellan, advancing his troops by land 
from the toe of the Peninsula, — their flanks being 
protected by gunboats moving up the waters of the 
York and the James, — was suddenly brought squarely 
up against this strong artificial barrier, with its 
natural buttresses, and was compelled to come to 
an abrupt halt. 

This barrier was made still more impregnable by 
the arrival of General Johnston, with fresh forces to 
further man their whole length. Johnston, as the 
officer of highest rank on the ground, took the 
supreme control of the entire body of Confederate 



56 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

troops present. He pitched his headquarters some 
distance back from the banks of York river on a 
site that lay on very low groimd, like the rest of 
the coastal region to which that part of the Penin- 
sula belonged. Had there been a hill near at hand 
he could easily have observed, through a field 
glass, the dispositions of the soldiers in the enemy's 
encampments and the movements of the gunboats 
reconnoitering in the broad waters of the two 
neighboring rivers. 

But there was no such height. The entire coun- 
try, spread out on a dead level just a few feet 
above the reach of the waves at high tide, was 
simply a great plain formed at first of the sediment 
of the ocean bed. It was now overgrown with 
forests, chiefly of oak and pine, broken here and 
there by clearings under tillage for wheat or corn, 
or by pastures for cattle. The top of a tree afforded 
only a limited scope for the gaze of one peering out 
over the face of the landscape, since other trees, 
near or distant, obstructed the freedom of expanse. 
Indeed, the encampments of the Federals beyond 
the line of breastworks were really encircled by 
woods, and unless the eye of the Confederate ob- 
server could look directly down on them, it would 
have been impossible to ascertain their precise posi- 
tion, except possibly by the wreaths of smoke, 
which might, at certain hours, be rising from the 
fires of the field kitchens. 



UP IN A BALLOON 57 

Nor could the wariest and most energetic scout 
be justly expected to report accurately as to the 
number of the Federal troops, or as to their exact 
disposition, since one man, or even half a dozen 
men, however experienced, would have found it im- 
practicable to cover furtively the whole intricate 
field of the enemy's operations which had to be 
inspected and fully comprehended. 

It was, however, imperative that the Confederate 
Commander should obtain information of what was go- 
ing on beyond the line of breastworks. Were the 
enemy getting ready for an assault, and, if so, in what 
strength? When, as indicated by their movements, 
was the attack likely to be made? Johnston was 
entirely in the dark on these points at a moment 
when he wished to know positively the immediate 
intentions of the Federals as revealed by the actions 
of their troops in camp. There was little use in 
sending out a scout, as has been seen, for not only 
was the field to be reported on too broad, but he 
might be captured and never return. Nor was 
there any advantage, as already pointed out, in 
establishing a crow's nest in a tall pine, since no 
outlook was to be obtained thereby. How then was 
the General to surmount the disconcerting situation 
facing him? 

Fortunately, when he set out for the Peninsula, 
he knew the general character of the country in 



58 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

which he was to campaign. What was the best 
means of seeing far and wide over this flat and 
jungle-like region? By a balloon, of course. John- 
ston had brought with him all the material for just 
such aircraft, and he now determined to put it to 
immediate use. This balloon, which, it is said, 
was the first that the Confederates employed, was 
made, not of rubber, — stuff with difficulty procured 
in the South at that hour, — but of thick cotton 
cloth, rendered very stiff and perfectly air tight by 
several coatings of tar. In ordinary times, the 
hydrogen gas with which to inflate the envelope 
would have been produced on the spot; but there 
were no facilities for doing this in a temporary 
Confederate camp, and, in consequence, hot air had 
to be used as a substitute. 

Possessing a balloon, and with the means to make 
it rise from the ground into the sky, the General 
was now at a loss as to how to obtain an aeronaut 
who would be able to manage it safely. It was not 
sufficient that the man should have had some ex- 
perience, and that he should possess an iron nerve; 
he should be a person too who could give an intelli- 
gent description of the dispositions of the hostile 
forces on land and water. Not only would he have 
to observe all that lay beneath him, but also make 
notes of what he saw so as to assure the most com- 
plete accuracy in his subsequent report to head- 
quarters. 



UP IN A BALLOON 59 



There was no one in the Confederate army pre- 
sent who had received any training at all as an air 
pilot; but this fact, though known to General John- 
ston, failed to discourage him, for it could be met 
in a measure by attaching the balloon to the ground 
by a long rope. It is true that the rope might be 
shot to pieces by the enemy's batteries when the 
balloon was up in the sky, but this was a risk 
which he knew would be taken by any brave man. 

The General made his choice on a mere venture. 
Without stating the character of the task which he 
had in view, he wrote General Magruder to send to 
him a soldier who "was familiar with this particular 
region of country by his having resided in it; who 
was a quick and shrewd observer; and whose cour- 
age was not likely to be shaken by his being placed 
in a dangerous and novel situation. 

This note passed through the Adjutant-General's 
office, and was there read by a young fellow twenty- 
one years of age, — John Randolph Bryan, who bore 
a name of social and political distinction in both 
Georgia and Virginia. Having been born in Glou- 
cester county, which was situated on York river 
just opposite Yorktown, he had, from boyhood, 
known minutely the typography of the country now 
occupied by the two opposing armies; thus he 
possessed the first of the qualifications which the 
Commander had required; and as he was very 



60 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

anxious to win distinction, he ventured to think 
that he would not be found devoid of the others 
should he be put to the practical test by circum- 
stances. He, therefore, requested General Magruder 
to assign him for whatever enterprise General John- 
ston had under consideration. 

When Bryan set out for the latter's headquarters, 
he was ordered to report to the Commander in per- 
son. As he entered the General's tent, the General 
got his first sight of him and started back in undis- 
guised astonishment at his aeronaut's youthful ap- 
pearance. This surprise perhaps caused him to 
make his questions so keen and searching; indeed, 
his inquiries were put so sharply and so quickly as 
almost to disconcert the young man, cool and sturdy 
as he was. 

"Have you any military knowledge. Sir? How 
long have you served in the army, Sir? If you were 
inspecting from a distance. Sir, would you be able 
to distinguish artillery from infantry, or infantry 
from dismounted cavalry? What information. Sir, 
have you about the different roads, creeks, and 
fords in this part of the Peninsula?" 

These questions having been answered to his ap- 
parent satisfaction, he turned abruptly to his aide, 
who had been present during the interview: 

"Assign Mr. Bryan to the balloon service," he 
ordered. "He is expected to make at once the 



UP IN A BALLOON 61 

necessary reconnoissances. Please instruct him as to 
the precise information which we shall want, and as 
to the form of the report which he will have to 
submit on his return from his flight." 

Now Bryan was as brave as a young lion in 
spirit, and he also thirsted for a chance to win dis- 
tinction for himself, but it had not occurred to him, 
when he volunteered his services, that his new 
career of adventure was to take him into the un- 
stable regions of the upper air. 

"General," he protested, "I never saw a balloon 
in my life. I know nothing. Sir, as to the proper 
way of managing one." 

General Johnston looked at him sternly. 

"What I want, Sir," he said in his briefest man- 
ner, "is a man to go up in the balloon. Hold your- 
self in readiness to obey my orders." 

No room was left for further argument. Bryan 
withdrew somewhat shaken by the prospect of soon 
finding himself in the most novel situation of his 
life; but he resolved to face its dangers with the 
brave front which had always distinguished him. 
He felt just as a man who had never been in the 
water would do if ordered to throw himself over- 
board and swim to the shore. He was not aware 
at the moment he was informed of the task before 
him that the balloon would be attached to the 
ground; but while this would require of him less 



62 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 



1 



skill as an aeronaut, it would not really diminish 
his peril from shot and shell, for the balloon would 
still be a target for the enemy's batteries. 

The hour having arrived for the ascension, he was 
escorted to the spot where the balloon was tied to 
a tree. It had already been inflated with hot air 
by means of a flue that had sucked the air up 
from a roaring fire fed with pine knots and balls of 
turpentine. The rope that held down the huge 
envelope was at least half a mile in length, but was 
easily worked by the men in charge of it by draw- 
ing it around a windlass. The balloon could thus 
be made to ascend or descend at will. 

Before entering the basket, Bryan was handed a 
small flag which he was told to use in signaling to 
the men at the windlass, should he wish to rise to 
a higher altitude or to come down to the earth 
again. He now received his final instructions: he 
was not only to make a written note describing the 
exact character of the respective positions of the 
enemy's infantry, artillery, and cavalry, but also to 
draw a map with materials given him which would 
show at a glance those positions in their relation 
to the rest of the surrounding country. 

The first perilous moment for our amateur aero- 
naut was the one at which the balloon would appear 
above the tops of the trees; being then still near the 
ground, it would be in range of the hostile guns. 




5ryan Was to Use a Small Flag in Signaling 



UP IN A BALLOON 63 

As soon as it should reach a point high up in the 
sky, the enemy would find it impossible to raise 
the mouths of their cannon on a line of such sharp 
elevation as to fire them with any prospect of suc- 
cess. 

Two steps were taken that were expected to in- 
crease the chance of a safe ascent in the dangerous 
earliest stage: first, the balloon was placed behind 
a thicket of pine which would serve as a perfect 
curtain when the start was made; and secondly, the 
crew were ordered to let the rope out with great 
rapidity in the beginning so that the balloon might 
shoot suddenly far above the intervening screen of 
trees. The enemy might thus be unable to fire at 
it before it had risen high in, the air. 

While their shrapnel might be evaded in the 
ascent by this precaution, no like means of escaping 
could be devised for the descent, for, as the balloon 
came down, its motion earthward was certain to be 
observed by the hostile cannoneers, who would hold 
their fire until it was within the range of their 
guns. 

The enemy must have been informed by spies of 
the intended ascent, for hardly had the balloon 
risen above the tops of the pines when a cannon in 
the nearest Federal encampment was hastily ele- 
vated and began to discharge shrapnel straight at 
it. A rain of shells and bullets was scattered about 



64 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

the great floating cotton bag, but fortunately, none 
of the missiles or their fragments struck either the 
envelope or the occupant of the basket. Bryan 
had the presence of mind to wave his flag to the 
crew below as a signal to them to let the rope run 
out faster so that a more rapid headway might in- 
crease his chance of escaping; a quick response fol- 
lowed; and the balloon shot up so high in a few 
minutes that the Federal gunners ceased their fire. 
Bryan again signalled to the crew, and the balloon 
came to a stop. 

The experience through which he had just passed 
was so exciting that he afterwards acknowledged 
that, for a time, he was unable to observe the posi- 
tions of the enemy or to note the probable number 
of the troops, in the several arms of the service, 
who might be seen from the great height. Every 
puff of wind swayed the basket to and fro and 
caused the enormous bag above him to tug at the 
rope like some animal trying to escape. Apart 
from the awful uncertainty of his seat at that fear- 
ful altitude, which made his brain dizzy, he could 
not help thinking of the perils of the descent that 
he would soon have to face. But gradually his 
equanimity returned and he was able to perform 
the task which had brought him into that lofty 
sphere. 

Below him lay the entire region situated between 
the Chesapeake on the east, James river on the 



UP IN A BALLOON 65 

west, and Hampton Roads on the south. It was 
spread out Hke a vast map, with all its natural 
features distinctly visible. A closer inspection re- 
vealed the sites of the hostile encampments and 
the positions of the artillery, infantry, and cavalry. 
It was no easy job to make a note in writing and 
draft a map of all that he was able to observe, for 
the balloon, blown about by the currents in the 
upper air, soon became as unsteady as if it were a 
gigantic top spinning slowly in one complete revolu- 
tion after another. 

But after a considerable interval, he was success- 
ful in completing in detail the work which he had 
been ordered to do and signalled to the men on the 
ground that he was ready to descend. He was now 
fully aware that he was about to pass through the 
greatest perils of his entire flight. Nor did he 
exaggerate them; the enemy clearly understood the 
value of the information which he would bring Gen- 
eral Johnston to aid the Confederate cause and to 
damage the Federal; and they determined to blow 
up the balloon and destroy its occupant if it were 
possible to do so. Instead of one battery being 
trained on Bryan, as in the ascent, there were now 
four or five; and so soon as the balloon sank within 
range of the guns, they opened on it with a violent 
and continuous fire. The air around it appeared to 
the lookers-on below to be filled with flame and 
smoke from the bursting shrapnel. 



66 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

But again fortune favored Bryan; with such 
energy did the crew, working in relays, turn the 
windlass that the balloon descended even more 
rapidly than it went up; and very soon disappeared 
from the enemy's sight behind the screen of pine 
trees. It had made the whole of its dangerous 
voyage without receiving a single scratch. 

General Johnston was very much pleased with his 
aeronaut's report and warmly praised him for the 
courage and skill which he had shown. Bryan re- 
ceived these words of commendation with the mod- 
esty of a true hero; but he was not eager to put 
himself in so novel a situation a second time. 

"Will you not now, Sir," he asked, "reassign me 
to my former place with General Magruder?" 

"My dear Sir," replied Johnston with his most 
winning smile, "I fear that you forget that you are 
the only experienced aeronaut that I have with 
my army. You will please hold yourself in readi- 
ness, as we may wish you to make another ascen- 
sion at any time." 

Within a few days, he received an order to go up 
in the balloon again. Special precautions were now 
taken to increase the chances for a safe voyage. A 
new spot from which the balloon was to be sent up 
was chosen at some distance from the old. This, it 
was hoped, would disconcert the enemy's gunners, 
as they would be looking for its next appearance 



UP IN A BALLOON 67 

above the same screen of pines as at first. In addi- 
tion, a more rapid descent was to be assured by 
the use of six strong artillery horses hitched to the 
end of the rope; when the signal should be given 
by the aeronaut in the sky, these horses were to be 
ridden at full speed up the road leading right away 
from the windlass. 

The second ascension went off without any mis- 
hap, and Bryan now began to think that, after all. 
General Johnston was right in considering him to 
be an experienced aeronaut. Anyway, he looked for- 
ward to another flight with much less nervousness; 
and was not disconcerted when he received the 
order to go up the third time. 

It had been reported by the outposts that the 
enemy were in motion, and it became of urgent 
importance to ascertain the exact point on the line 
of Confederate entrenchments which they were 
likely to assault first. There was now a full moon 
and observations could be taken from a point in 
the sky almost as accurately at night as during the 
day, and with much less danger. The firing crew 
were ordered to inflate the balloon at once, and 
Bryan was directed to enter the basket so soon as 
the men gave the signal that all was ready. Never 
had he mounted to his seat with so strong a feeling 
of confidence, for he now looked on himself as being 
no longer an amateur. The enemy too would be 



68 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

unable, in spite of the bright moonlight, to follow 
the ascent of the balloon with as much certainty as 
during the day; and as they were now advancing, their 
batteries could not, in their former number at least, 
hurl shrapnel at their aerial target. 

But it is always the unexpected that happens. 
Bryan almost immediately found himself in a situa- 
tion encompassed by such dangers as he had never 
yet been called upon to face. As this balloon was 
the only one attached to that Confederate army, its 
ascension was regarded by the soldiers as an event 
of extraordinary interest; and they always gathered 
around the fire when the inflation was going on to 
watch the process, and afterwards to gaze at the 
great bag as it rose towards the zenith. On this 
particular occasion, a larger number than usual had 
assembled, since it was night when most of the men 
were off duty. The brilliant flames from the pine 
knot fuel were visible in the half darkness to even 
the most distant camps, and this drew many addi- 
tional spectators to the spot; so many, indeed, came 
to gratify their curiosity that the crew engaged in 
filling the balloon with hot air found it difficult to 
perform their task for the pushing, staring crowd 
about them. 

But finally their work was finished. Bryan 
stepped into the basket; the windlass began to turn; 
and the balloon rose from the ground. It went up 



UP IN A BALLOON 69 

very smoothly until it had reached a height of 
about two hundred feet, when, with the suddenness 
of a pistol shot, it fairly darted straight up into the 
sky as if it had been discharged from some gigantic 
catapult. The rope had been cut and the balloon 
was at the mercy of the winds! 

The accident had happened in a curious way. It 
seems that one of the soldiers, in his burning eager- 
ness to watch every stage in the inflation of the 
balloon, had, without knowing it, stepped in the 
open centre of the great coil of rope that was to be 
wound around the windlass as the balloon went up. 
So soon as the ascent began, this rope started to 
run out so fast, and with such a disturbing noise, 
that the man, in his astonishment and confusion, 
permitted his feet to become entangled, and seeing 
himself drawn helplessly toward the windlass, 
screamed at the top of his voice for assistance. A 
comrade, standing near, thinking that his friend 
would certainly be caught in the windlass and 
killed, picked up a hatchet and with a quick blow 
severed the rope. The man was thus saved from 
injury or death, but the balloon was set free to rise 
as high and to float as far as the winds should 
dictate. 

Bryan's sensations, when he found himself darting 
up to the heavens at the speed of the fastest loco- 
motive, were far more acute and bewildering than 



70 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

they were at the beginning of his first adventure. 
His breath was taken away; and he could only grip 
the sides of his basket to save himself from falling 
out. He afterwards calculated that the balloon only 
ceased to shoot upwards when it had reached an 
altitude of two miles: at that height, even had it 
been during the day, it would have been barely pos- 
sible for him to discern the exact positions of the 
enemy, but, at night, although the moon was shin- 
ing so brightly, all thought of taking observations 
of what was going on below was wholly impractic- 
able. Even if it had been otherwise, the perils of 
the aeronaut's situation would not have admitted, 
in the first stage at least, of his discharging such a 
duty. 

The balloon being now entirely beyond his con- 
trol, the prospect before him was not a cheerful one; 
indeed, all the chances were that he would either 
come to the ground within the enemy's lines or be 
dropped into Chesapeake Bay. In the one case, he 
would be imprisoned; in the other, drowned. He 
knew that the balloon would remain up in the sky 
as long as the air which it contained should keep 
its heat. What time must pass before it should 
begin to cool? 

Before the smallest evidence that the heat was 
diminishing revealed itself, the balloon floated 
lazily far back behind the Confederate lines. Bryan 



UP IN A BALLOON 71 

began to hope that, after all, he was going to 
escape the capture which he had been foreboding. 
Then a current of wind struck the sides of the 
great bag, stopped it, and gradually diverted its 
motion in the other direction; in a short time, he 
found himself floating far behind the Federal en- 
campments, and now his heart sank, — he was cer- 
tain that he would be taken prisoner. But again 
the balloon became the sport of an air current an- 
tagonistic to the one propelling it; and under this 
new pressure, it slowly turned and floated back 
towards the Confederate entrenchments. 

The hot air had now cooled to such a degree that 
the balloon had sunk to a plane of the atmosphere 
only a few hundred feet above the ground. But 
this fact created a new danger. If he passed over 
the Federal batteries at that height, they would not 
fail to open fire and bring him to earth; might not 
the Confederate batteries also send a storm of shrap- 
nel after him in their ignorance as to his identity? 
He was now so near the surface of the ground that 
there should be little difficulty in hitting so enor- 
mous a target. 

Hardly had the balloon arrived over the first 
Confederate encampment when its occupant was 
greeted with a fusillade of musketry, and although 
he frantically waved his signal flag, the soldiers 
below ran forward some distance, as he receded. 



72 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

firing at the huge object overhead, now clearly 
visible in the moonlight. Slowly the balloon drifted 
away until it stood above the margin of York 
river, and as it passed out over the stream, it had 
sunk so low that Bryan could distinctly hear the 
rope that was trailing beneath it splashing in the 
water. 

Fearing that he would be thrown out into the 
Bay, and that he would be impeded in swimming 
by a pair of heavy boots which he was wearing, he 
endeavored to draw them off, but in vain; and it 
was not until he had ripped their sides wide open 
with his knife that he at last rid his feet of the 
obstruction. 

While he was fumbling with this task, the balloon, 
under the influence of another current of air, drifted 
back to land; and when it had sunk still nearer to 
the surface of the earth, he grasped the rope, and 
with the agility of an acrobat, let himself down to 
the ground by means of it. 

Running forward with the end in his hand, he 
tied it to a tree, and the balloon, already near the 
last stage of complete collapse, soon settled quietly 
in a heap on the grass. 



CHAPTER IV 
Lieutenant Robins and the Vanguard 



CHAPTER IV 
LIEUTENANT ROBINS AND THE VANGUARD 

Through the region that lies between the Pa- 
munkey and the James, there flows a river the name 
of which was on the lips of all men during the 
spring and summer of 1862; this is the Chickahom- 
iny, a stream that, for many miles of its course, is 
bordered by green swamps and stagnant, pestilential 
backwaters. In the second year of the war, this 
marshy stream was crossed by wooden bridges, 
approached on either side by roadbeds covered over 
with saplings, laid down one after the other so un- 
evenly as to cause many a jolt to the passing wagon. 
In this way alone could a firm highway be built 
on that mass of oozing mud. Back of the swamps, 
were either narrow lowgrounds or hills overgrown 
with stunted trees and scrubby bushes, interspersed 
with small farms that showed few signs of thrift or 
prosperity. 

It was on the banks of this jungle stream that 
McClellan posted the great army which he had led 
up the Peninsula for the capture of the Confederate 
capital. The position was a dangerous one for that 
army to occupy should it meet with even a partial 
defeat, whether on the north or the south side of 



76 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

the river. The Federal success at Fair Oaks, and 
the coming up of reinforcements, alone prevented 
the Federal failure at Seven Pines from developing 
into a disastrous rout. 

June had now arrived. The trees were clothed 
with their greenest leaves; the fields were carpeted 
with newly sprung grass; the swamps had become 
screens of foliage impenetrable to the eye; and the 
softness and beauty of summer in its earliest flush 
brooded over the entire landscape. It was in the 
midst of this scene, so touched by the wand of the 
loveliest and most promising season of the year, 
that the two hostile armies stood sternly facing each 
other, like a couple of gladiators, who, after wrestling 
together without preponderance for either, have 
stopped simply to recover their breath. The situa- 
tion was more disappointing to the Federals, for 
they were now so near their goal, Richmond, that 
they could, from the hills, descry the tallest spires 
of the city and hear the striking of its public clocks. 

Lee was soon appointed to take the place of 
Johnston, who, having been severely wounded, had 
been compelled to throw up active service. The 
new commander found his antagonist very firmly 
entrenched in front of him. A direct attack was not 
likely to succeed. Would an attack upon the flank? 

Lee decided to dispatch a considerable force 
northward to Hanover Court-House to ascertain the 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 77 

defenses of the Federal right wing, which had been 
pushed forward to that point in the hope of soon 
joining hands with McDowell, descending from 
Washington and Fredericksburg. If the defenses 
were reported to be weak, Jackson could be brought 
suddenly and secretly from the Valley to strike the 
right wing, to double it up, and to throw it back in 
confusion on the Federal centre; which, simulta- 
neously, might be assaulted directly by the main 
body of the Confederate troops, now stationed 
behind their line of breastworks. 

The task of getting the information wanted was 
a dangerous one, and could only be safely entrusted 
to a very bold yet cautious leader and to picked 
men and tested horses. There was one officer who 
possessed, in the highest degree, the daring, the 
prudence, and the skill required for such an enter- 
prise; this was General Jeb Stuart, who commanded 
all the cavalry belonging to the Confederate army. 

The war did not give birth on either side to a 
more gallant or a more picturesque figure than this 
famous officer. The spirit of gayety seemed to sit 
upon the crest of his personality as well in the hour 
of peril as in the hour of peace; when the first note 
of the bugle sounding Boots and Saddles was heard, 
he would leap on his horse with the delighted ani- 
mation of a man who was about to enter a ball- 
room for the dance. Riding at the head of his 



78 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

column in the course of a raid that may have 
taken him far behind the enemy's Hnes, and even 
when charging at the head of his men, — for he never 
ordered them to go where he was not ready to go 
with them, — he would burst out into song, indif- 
ferent to the clatter of the march or the storm of 
bursting shells, as if for him the shadow of death 
had in it something stimulating and exhilarating. 
His negro banjo player always went along with him 
in his campaigns to please his master's ear, both on 
the road and in the tent, with the old plantation 
melodies. 

He was the ideal cavalier in his manner, his 
stride, and his dress; and in spirit too, for he was 
equally ready to charge the enemy or to play the 
gallant to the admiring ladies. "His men," a mem- 
ber of his staff records, "treated him more like the 
chief huntsman of a hunting party than as a Major- 
General." His uniform showed his love of gay 
colors, — gold braid and buttons that shone brilliantly 
adorned his jacket; from his hat, looped up on one 
side by a golden star, a large plume always floated; 
his cape, which he usually wore thrown back over 
his shoulders, was lined with scarlet; his spurs were 
made of the purest gold; and he not infrequently 
appeared on the parade and on the march with his 
horse's neck wreathed in brightly tinted flowers. 

Beneath these lighter qualities, there lurked a firm- 
ness of courage which no dangers or difficulties could 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 79 

daunt or confuse; a power of endurance which no 
fatigue could exhaust; and a capacity for military 
leadership which was relied upon with unquestioning 
confidence by every officer and private at his back. 

Who were the men now detailed to follow this 
splendid leader upon one of the most dangerous 
enterprises in which soldiers ever took part? These 
troopers had been chosen from the body of the Con- 
federate cavalry, perhaps the most accomplished 
arm of the service, and they had been prepared for 
the expedition before them by the experience they 
had recently acquired in Northern Virginia and on 
the Peninsula. Always the eyes and ears of the 
army, they had kept up their ceaseless vigil on the 
enemy's movements throughout the winter and 
spring, regardless alike of rain and snow and sun- 
shine, and indifferent to the condition of the roads, 
whether frozen as hard as iron or melted into 
bottomless mud. The clash of sabres and the rattle 
of carbines had been ever in their ears; and never 
were they slow in mounting to the saddle at the 
first note of the bugle, even should it ring out in 
the middle of the night. Their only tents had been 
their blankets, and their only commissary stores 
such food as they could pick up at the farm-houses 
along the road. 

Indeed, their marches had been full of exciting 
episodes from day to day and even from hour to 



80 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

hour. Incident and adventure had crowded on 
them, — now they were pursuing or retreating before 
the enemy; now they were scouting or skirmishing 
or plunging into a pitched battle. They had drunk 
deeply of the life of partisans and rangers on a grand 
scale, — at one moment, exposed to all the fatigues 
of the night raid or to the imminent perils of a 
clash of arms in the day time; at the next, relaxing 
under the influence of jovial comradeship in the 
light of the bivouac fires beneath the boughs of the 
silent forest, — an endless round, as one of their own 
comrades has written, of marching, fighting, jesting, 
feasting, starving. 

Such had been the recent experiences of the men 
who were about to set out with Stuart upon what 
was to prove to be the most brilliant adventure even 
in his romantic career. There were about fifteen 
hundred troopers in all. The vanguard, composed 
of some fifteen picked cavalrymen, was under the 
command of Lieutenant William T. Robins, an ofiicer 
even younger in years than Stuart, whom he re- 
sembled in his love of fun and frolic, in his buoyant 
and sanguine disposition, in his fondness for the 
excitement of battle, and in his perfect contempt 
for danger. He possessed all the qualities of the 
typical young Virginian of that period. Before hos- 
tilities began, he was a country gentleman dis- 
tinguished among his fellows for his manly accom- 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 81 

plishments, — he was a skillful oarsman, a fearless 
rider, an accurate shot, a graceful dancer, a charm- 
ing raconteur, a gay and sympathetic companion, 
and an hospitable host. Having, like Stuart, the 
keenest relish for a song, he was often heard, as he 
dashed along in the ride around McClellan's army, 
trolling "In the Good Old Colony Days," "Bonnie 
Blue Flag," and other airs which were popular in 
those stirring times. 

When the squadron under Stuart started on the 
morning of June 12th on their great reconnoisance, 
not an oflScer under him, including Lieutenant 
Robins, who was to lead the vanguard, was aware 
of the exact destination which the General had in 
view. Indeed, as we shall see, circumstances were 
to govern the movements of the expedition. Lieu- 
tenant Robins was ordered to keep well in front on 
the march. He received sixty rounds of ammuni- 
tion and three day's rations for each soldier under 
him. This very ignorance as to the real purpose of 
the enterprise exhilarated his men; they were at 
least sure that their love of adventure was soon to 
be fully gratified, probably by a clash with the 
enemy and certainly by an outing in the open fields 
and woods. If there was to be any excitement, 
whether of the attack or the pursuit, they would, as 
the vanguard, be the first to plunge into it and the 
first to draw blood. As gaily as if they were about 



82 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

to take part in a fox chase, they leaped upon their 
horses when the bugle sounded Boots and Saddles; 
and as they rode away at a fast trot, one of them 
called out to a small disconsolate group of soldiers 
left behind in the camp: 

"Goodbye, boys, we are going to help old Jack 
drive the Yanks into the Potomac." 

So the vanguard conjectured because Lieutenant 
Robins had received the order to move straight 
towards the north, which would have brought them 
in time to Fredericksburg, and in the end into 
actual conflict with McDowell. Throughout the 
day, they kept well ahead of the main body, and 
were untiring in their search for traces of Federal 
scouts and detachments, who might have stolen 
that far beyond their lines. The woods were now in 
their greenest and lushest leaf; the fields were cov- 
ered with the springing corn or the waving wheat; 
the weeds had grown tall by the way-side. The 
vanguard took advantage of all these natural screens, 
as they wished to be as secret in their movements as 
the necessity for rapidity should permit. 

The first night they went into bivouac with the 
main forces at a point situated about twenty-two 
miles north of Richmond; and the next morning, 
they arose from their couch on the ground without 
having been aroused by the reveille, as the outposts 
of the enemy were known to be near at hand and 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 83 

watchful for any sign or sound of a hostile army. 
The vanguard were now ordered to wheel sharply 
to the east, — which proved to them that they were 
not expected after all to lead the way towards the 
Rappahannock. Was it then the General's inten- 
tion to attack the right wing of McClellan? This 
wnng they knew vaguely was encamped somewhere 
in the region which they were now facing. 

A march of a few miles brought Lieutenant 
Robins and his men in sight of Hanover Court- 
House, the drowsy village which Patrick Henry had 
made famous by his speech against the Parsons, 
and which contained a quaint old tavern and a few 
colonial houses shaded by trees that had been 
standing there in the times of the Revolution. In 
its single street, they saw a large detachment of 
Federal horses tied to the fences, but all saddled so 
that they could be mounted at the first alarm. 
Robins immediately reported this fact to General 
Stuart, who moved forward in front, while Colonel 
Fitzhugh Lee was ordered to attack on the flank; 
but before either could come in range of the enemy, 
a party of cavalry scouts, they had retreated in a 
cloud of dust eastward down the road leading to 
Old Church. 

The vanguard took up the pursuit at top speed, 
and at a heavily wooded spot known as Hawes Shop 
ti^ey ran pell mell upon the Federal pickets, whom 



84 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

they either captured or dispersed. Not halting one 
minute, they continued their headlong gallop until 
they came suddenly in sight of a large body of 
Federal troopers blocking the highway with sabres 
drawn for a charge. These troopers had their camp 
at Old Church, and having been alarmed by the 
retreating scouts, whom their commander had sent 
to Hanover Court-House to reconnoitre, they had 
advanced to ascertain the strength of the raiding 
party. They were too formidable a force for the 
vanguard to attack alone, so they drew off until 
Colonel W. H. F. Lee should reach the ground at 
the head of his squadrons. 

From this point the road ran through a deep 
ravine down to the banks of Tottopotomoi Creek, 
which it crossed by a wooden bridge. The steep 
sides of the highway were fringed with a thick 
growth of pine and laurel. 

On coming up, the large Confederate force now 
called into action received the order, "Form fours, 
draw sabre, charge." The Federals resisted only 
for a short time, as they were outnumbered, and 
then wheeling in their tracks, retired at a gallop 
towards the creek, with the Confederates in hot 
pursuit; but as the road grew more narrow and the 
woods on either side more dense, Stuart sounded a 
halt for fear of an overwhelming attack from 
ambush. The mud-banks of the Tottopotomoi, over- 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 85 

grown with tall weeds and scrubby trees, were now 
in sight. The bridge was found to be undefended, 
and Robins was directed to cross with his vanguard 
and to ascertain whether the enemy had made a 
stand further on. Having passed over a hill, he 
discovered a large Federal force drawn up at a 
point where they would be in position to obstruct 
the Confederates' advance towards Mechanicsville, 
in which neighborhood a part of McClellan's army 
was encamped. 

The vanguard again halted for support to march 
up. Colonel W. H. F. Lee was soon on the ground, 
and having arranged his troopers in columns of four, 
as in the first brush, and with sabres drawn, he 
ordered the advance. As the men galloped forward, 
yelling at the top of their voices, the Federal skir- 
mishers, hidden in the bushes on either side of the 
way, became panic stricken, and rushed out into 
the road at a point where there was an unoccupied 
interval between the charging Confederate squadron 
behind and the vanguard under Robins in front. 
They fled down the highway towards the main 
body of the Federal cavalry, carrying Robins and 
his men with them as in an irresistible torrent. In 
the general melee that resulted, this little band 
found themselves shot at with pistols and slashed 
with sabres by the skirmishers at their back and 
the Federal cavalry in their face; and at the end of 



86 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

a brief time, all except their leader were wounded 
and disabled. Robins finally succeeded in escaping 
in the confusion by leaping his horse over the fence 
that bounded the road; and having made a short 
circuit through the woods, joined the main body of 
the Confederate pursuers. 

Colonel Fitzhugh Lee now came up to continue 
the attack, which had met with a strong resistance; 
but in the end, the Federals retreated to Old Church; 
and on the Confederates arriving there, withdrew in 
the direction of McClellan's main encampments on 
the Chickahominy. 

When General Lee had sent Stuart to ascertain 
the defences of the Federal right wing, he had or- 
dered him to march as far as Old Church, and hav- 
ing reached that place, to be guided in his subse- 
quent movements by circumstances. Stuart had now 
gathered up all the information that the Confederate 
Commander was seeking, — he had learned that the 
Federal right wing had not been spread out in force 
as far as Hanover Court-House; and that it was so 
unprotected on this side that Jackson, coming down 
from the Valley, could be safely left to attack it 
with a view of driving it back, to the confusion of 
the Federal centre; which then might be assaulted 
by Lee in front with every prospect of success. 

Should Stuart return by the route by which he 
had come, which would take him around again in 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 87 

front of McClellan's army, or should he sweep behind 
that army, and passing over the Chickahominy river 
by one of the lower fords, join Lee at a point south 
of Richmond? 

It was a momentous question, and in his decision, 
Stuart was not influenced entirely by love of spec- 
tacular adventure. He could not cross the Pa- 
munkey, now in his neighborhood, and circle about 
south of Fredericksburg, because he had no pon- 
toons with which to bridge this broad deep stream. 
If he attempted to retreat to the north of Hanover 
Court-House, he would run upon the North Anna, 
now overflowing its banks from recent rains. If he 
endeavored to pass as before through Hanover Court- 
House, he would have to defy a concentrated force 
of Federal artillery, cavalry, and infantry, since the 
alarm had been given of his presence behind the 
Federal lines. Could he avoid interception? He 
thought not. 

On the other hand, the prospect of a ride to the 
lower Chickahominy was not an assuring one, for 
he would have to advance all the way in sight of 
the smoke from McClellan's camp fires. Moreover, 
he was aware that he would have to cross the 
Richmond and York River Railway, the Federal 
main line of communication, by which many thou- 
sand troops could, within a few hours, be brought 
down to throw themselves athwart his path. It all 



88 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

depended upon whether the Federal Commander 
had been promptly informed of his arrival at Old 
Church. Could there be much room for doubt on 
that vital point? 

In reality, there was barely one chance in ten that 
he would be able, by rapid movement, to reach the 
railway before the Federal troops could be concen- 
trated; but this chance he determined to take as of- 
fering the safer course among the alternatives open 
to him. Besides, General Lee had instructed him to 
inflict all the damage he could on the enemy's com- 
munications with West Point, and for the first time 
during the expedition, he would have an excellent 
opportunity of doing this so soon as he came up to 
the railroad. 

He was further confirmed in his decision by the 
fact that he was accompanied by several scouts who 
were familiar with the country to be traversed; above 
all, the leader of his vanguard, Lieutenant Robins, 
having been born in the adjacent county, had known 
the entire region from boyhood. 

Now began the most adventurous stage in the 
whole course of the ride, and the troopers entered 
upon it in a spirit of unrestrained gayety. They 
paused at Old Church just long enough to burn all 
the tents of the Federal camp and to stuff their 
haversacks with food from the enemy's stores. As 
they moved along, the country people flocked to the 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 89 

roadside, and filled their outstretched hands with 
all sorts of dainties. To Stuart, they gave a bou- 
quet of beautiful flowers, and begged him to carry- 
it back to Richmond with him; which he smilingly- 
promised to do. 

In conversation with his officers, he told them that 
he intended to cut his way through, should he be 
opposed by either infantry or cavalry; and as his 
squadrons were now behind the Federal lines, and 
with reason too to think that their advance was 
known to McClellan, they held themselves in readi- 
ness to charge on the instant. Their sabres were 
kept drawn and their carbines unslung. At one 
place, the cry arose: "The Yankees are in the rear." 
At once, the sabres flashed, fours were formed, and 
the men at command wheeled about; but not an 
enemy was to be seen. A roar of laughter swelled 
from the ranks, and they went on their way in an 
even gayer mood than before. 

All along the road, they passed wagons that had 
been overturned and deserted and their loads scat- 
tered on the ground; but they had no time to halt 
and pick up the articles they saw. In one spot, the 
mud was so deep in the roadbed that the two pieces 
of artillery accompanying them got firmly stalled. 
At first, it was found impossible to draw out one of 
the guns; the horses attached to it were lashed, the 
d^'ivers swore, but the wheels could not be made to 
budge. 



90 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"Why don't you pull that gun out of the mud?" 
cried the officer in charge, in his impatience. 

"Can't be done, Sir," was the discouraged reply. 

"Put that keg of whiskey on the caisson," ordered 
the officer, pointing to a keg in sight, "you men can 
have it if you drag the gun out." 

The keg was placed on the caisson; the cannoneers 
seized the wheels of the gun carriage; and though 
it was loaded down with ammunition as well as 
with the heavy gun barrel itself, they lifted it up 
and placed it on dry ground; and then the contents 
of the keg were generously distributed by the win- 
ners among all who thirsted for a draft. 

Lieutenant Robins and* his men were again acting 
as the vanguard, which consisted now of thirty men, 
who kept always half a mile ahead of the main 
column. Their first objective was the country road 
running from West Point to Richmond, a highway 
of great military importance, as it was skirted by a 
line of telegraph wire, which was now in the use of 
the Federal army on the Chickahominy. Robins 
had been ordered to cut this wire; and hardly had 
he done so, when a Federal wagon loaded with re- 
volvers was overtaken by the men and captured. 
While they were leisurely making their choice of 
these fine weapons, a small body of Federal troop- 
ers came in sight, but immediately halted when they 
discovered the presence of the Confederate cavalry- 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 91 

men. Drawing their sabres, they arranged their 
ranks for a charge; but as their opponents had 
mounted at once and offered a resolute front, and 
there was a chance too that other Confederate 
soldiers were close at hand, the Federal officer hesi- 
tated to sound the advance. Both of the bands 
stood with their carbines and sabres prepared for 
immediate action, and yet each was reluctant to 
take the first step, in their apprehension of a super- 
ior force behind. The Federal commander was wise 
in showing such prudence, for within the space of a 
few minutes a Confederate squadron approached at 
a gallop, and the Federal troopers, outnumbered, 
quickly retreated down the road. 

But not before one of them had been dispatched 
to Tunstall's station on the railway nearby to warn 
the guards at that place of the advance of the Con- 
federate cavalrymen. The man was so alarmed 
that, instead of stopping at the station in obedience 
to his orders, he passed by it at the top of his 
horse's speed, making for the protection of the gun- 
boats at the White House on the Pamunkey. As 
he rushed by, one of the company detailed to defend 
the station called out to him: 

"What's to pay?" 

"Hell's to pay," was the reply, as the trooper dis- 
appeared behind a bend in the highway. 

Lieutenant Robins, at the head of his squad of 
gay and adventurous cavalrymen, continued to lead 



92 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

the way. They were now only five miles distant 
from McClellan's nearest encampment, and if in- 
formation had already reached him of the raid, his 
first step naturally would have been to transport a 
large body of troops by rail to Turnstall's to head 
off and destroy the Confederate force. But Stuart 
was not harassed by the thought of such intercep- 
tion; he was really debating in his own mind 
whether he should not march straight for the White 
House and burn the immense accumulation of mili- 
tary stores there, after driving off the six hundred 
men in charge of them and defying the gunboats in 
the river. 

He wisely decided that it would be too hazardous 
for him to undertake such a venture in the short 
time at his disposal. Robins was ordered to push 
on to Turnstall's, while the squadrons were to 
follow rapidly in his track. As soon as the van- 
guard sighted the station, they were drawn up in 
ranks of four, and at the word of command, charged 
down on it, with yells that rang through the for- 
ests. No resistance was encountered; indeed, the 
Federal soldiers were lounging about the place with- 
out the slightest expectation of an attack. Only 
one man escaped capture; he had rushed for his 
musket, but desisted when a Confederate trooper 
waved his sabre over his head and sternly ordered 
him to surrender; which he did; but afterwards got 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 93 

away by gliding under the bridge in the confusion 
and dashing away to the woods. 

When all the Federals had been secured, the van- 
guard busied themselves with felling a big tree 
across the rails in the hope of stopping any train 
which might be passing the station. While they 
were so employed, the main body arrived on the 
ground, and all were about to lend a hand to place 
additional obstructions, when the rumbling of an 
approaching train was heard; the order was quickly 
given to level their muskets, but the engineer, in- 
stead of being intimidated by the sight of the tree 
lying across the track, and of a whole squadron of 
men ready to fire, turned the steam on at full head, 
and swept by at his highest rate of speed. A fusil- 
lade greeted the huddled-up Federal soldiers aboard, 
killing and wounding a large number of them; but 
the prostrate tree was knocked clear of the rails 
and the train rushed beyond the bridge and dis- 
appeared. 

The Confederates now directed their attention to 
burning this structure, in which they had been inter- 
rupted, and to sending up in flames the freight cars 
standing at the station and numerous wagons parked 
in a nearby field, all loaded with different kinds of 
supplies for the Federal army. The telegraph line 
was cut and the rails torn up for some distance. 
The whole day was spent in carrying out this de- 
struction. 



94 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

The troopers were now very much fatigued. They 
had not rested since they left Old Church; and their 
only food had been obtained from the country 
people. The horses too were very much exhausted; 
the advance had been so rapid that they had been 
unable to crop by the wayside; and as there had 
been no halt, they had never been turned into the 
pastures to forage. But the position of the raiding 
squadrons was now too precarious to permit of their 
remaining any longer where they were; it might 
even turn out that they had already delayed their 
departure too many hours; Boots and Saddles was 
sounded; and the troopers fell in promptly on the 
jaded horses. 

Lieutenant Robins again received the order to lead 
the vanguard. This body was directed to ride some 
distance ahead of the main column and to await 
its arrival at the little village of New Baltimore, 
several miles south of Tunstall's and on the main 
road running to the ford in the Chickahominy by 
which Stuart proposed to cross the river. On reach- 
ing this village, Lieutenant Robins and his men 
foimd there a store which had been erected by a 
camp follower of McClellan's army with the view 
of profiting by the trade of the numerous soldiers 
passing between the encampments near Richmond 
and the White House on the Pamunkey. This store 
was stocked with such an assortment of delicacies 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 95 

as to make the hungry Confederates feel as if a full 
grocery had been suddenly thrown open to them; 
there were figs, pickles, lemons, preserves, cakes, 
biscuits, sausages, canned meats, and other articles of 
food equally satisfying to a starved appetite. Little 
was left of the original contents of the store when 
the squadrons behind drew rein in the hamlet. 

At Talleysville, a halt was made to allow the 
main body three hours of rest. They learned here 
from scouts that there was an interval of only four 
miles between them and a large force in pursuit; and 
the latter would have caught up had they continued 
their march after darkness fell; but this they con- 
sidered it too dangerous for them to do; and Stuart, 
setting out for the Chickahominy at midnight had, 
by the morning, left them well in the rear. 

Lieutenant Robins and his band still led the way. 
There was now a full moon shining and its rays 
lighted up the road as they trotted along. It was 
quite possible for the enemy to have already pushed 
a large force across the path to the Chickahominy 
which they were now pursuing; and, therefore, it 
was not an unprovoked imagination on their part 
that caused them to see in every ghostly bush a 
blue-coated sentinel; and in every jagged tree a 
lonely vidette. 

Day was just streaking the eastern sky when the 
vanguard halted at the ford. To their acute dis- 



96 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

appointment, they found the waters of the stream in 
flood, and there did not seem to them to be any 
prospect of the squadron effecting a crossing at that 
point. They waited for Colonel W. H. F. Lee to 
come up, as his regiment was the one in front. On 
his arrival, the question arose: Should they attempt 
to swim the river in spite of the high water? As 
the line of crossing from bank to bank was some- 
what up stream, the horses would be brought di- 
rectly against the rushing current so soon as they 
started for the other side. In the face of this ob- 
vious peril. Colonel Lee spurred his horse into the 
flood; but after getting over with the utmost diffi- 
culty, returned to pronounce the passage impractic- 
able for the main body; and especially for the two 
pieces of artillery. Notwithstanding this conclusion, 
some seventy-five horsemen succeeded in reaching 
the farther shore. 

In vain, an attempt was made to bridge the river 
by felling large trees which grew on the bank; the 
terrific current carried them away so soon as they 
fell into the water. 

"What do you think of the situation, Colonel 
Lee?" said a member of Stuart's personal staff, who 
had ridden up. 

"Well, Captain," he replied, "I think we are 
caught." 

Stuart, who was now on the ground, refused to 
admit that he was entrapped. Learning that there 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 97 

was a bridge about a mile down stream, he set his 
whole force in motion; but on arriving there, found 
that the wooden part of the structure had been car- 
ried away by floods, and that only the stone abut- 
ments remained. There was a distance of forty feet 
between them, and in this narrow bed the stream 
rushed along as in a mill race. A boat was found 
tied to the bank, and by means of a rope it was 
placed and kept in the centre of this speeding water. 
Planks were let down to the boat from either abut- 
ment until a footbridge was constructed from pier to 
pier, resting on the boat as the middle pier. 

Removing the saddles, the troopers swam the 
horses across, while they themselves passed over 
this improvised structure. But how was the artil- 
lery to be got to the other side? The bridge was 
not strong enough to sustain the weight of the two 
field pieces. Stuart ordered his men to bring the 
beams from an old bam standing in an adjacent field 
and to adjust their ends to either abutment, and 
then to cover these supports with planks resting 
crosswise. While this work was being done, he was 
not content to look on, but at every stage, gave his 
personal aid, singing as he did so as gayly as if 
there was not the smallest danger of a large Federal 
force coming up at any moment and attacking his 
rear. 

The artillery having been brought over, the whole 
body of cavalry was soon again in motion. They 



98 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

now found themselves on an island. There was no 
bridge over the second arm of the river, but men 
and cannon were able to pass the ford without diffi- 
culty or delay. The road between the two branches 
of the stream, and beyond, was full of mud, and 
the mules, on which the prisoners were riding, were 
constantly stumbling, and many of them rolled over 
in the mud holes. This made it very uncomfortable 
for the captives, and at last, one of them exclaimed: 

"How many Chickenhominies are there in this 
confoimded country?" 

In the course of the bridge building. Lieutenant 
Robins and his squad had been acting as the rear 
guard. From a hill on" the north bank of the river, 
they had been keeping a close watch for the ex- 
pected approach of the enemy. So soon as the 
artillery and the main body had crossed, the rear 
guard drew back to the stream, and when they had 
passed over, they set the bridge on fire by means of 
a large quantity of dry fence rails which they had 
piled up on the planks. They had first tied their 
horses behind a thick screen of trees, but while the 
bridge was burning, they themselves, with their 
leader, stood or were seated in the open road. 
Hardly had the timbers fallen in, when a shot rang 
through the swamp, and a small twig, cut by a bul- 
let from the tree overhead, fell into the lap of Lieu- 
tenant Robins, who was seated under its boughs. 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 99 

The shot had come from a soldier belonging to a 
detachment of Federal Lancers which was in pur- 
suit; the bridge being down, they could not advance 
any further; and they soon turned back to rejoin 
their main army. 

As the post of danger in the beginning of the ride 
had been in front, so now it was in the rear; and 
until Stuart came to James river, this post was 
filled by Lieutenant Robins and his men. Crossing 
the second arm of the Chickahominy, they had 
hurried forward until they had found themselves 
once more in touch with the main body. 

Of the thirty-five miles which had now to be 
traversed before Richmond could be reached, about 
twenty lay within the lines of the enemy. For thirty- 
six hours all the men had been almost continuously 
in the saddle, with few opportunities to refresh them- 
selves with sleep or food. Not far from James river, 
they halted for a short time to turn their horses out 
to graze in a clover field, while they devoured the 
rations picked up by their foragers among the farm- 
houses. In spite of their fatigue, all felt in a state 
of elation over the successful course of the raid; 
many a humorous anecdote was told, and many a 
joke was cracked by the wags among the troopers. 

So soon as night came on, the march was resumed. 
Once more Lieutenant Robins and his men formed 
the vanguard. Although their members had so 



100 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

lately rested, yet there were few among them who 
were not overcome with drowsiness; some, indeed, 
were so overwhelmed by sleep that they almost fell 
from their saddles. The road they were marching 
along was close to James river, which, in this part 
of it, was occupied by a fleet of Federal war vessels. 
The moon was now riding high in the sky, and its 
light, shining on the surface of the water, disclosed 
the presence of the gunboats. They had but a few 
minutes before noted a large number of masts, when 
the challenge rang out: 

"Who goes there?" 

The men were wide awake in an instant; sabres 
were drawn; and ranks of four formed to repel an 
attack; but it was quickly found out that a Confed- 
erate and not a Federal vidette had raised the cry. 
Once more, the vanguard was safe within the Con- 
federate lines; and they were soon followed by the 
main force. 

In the course of this romantic raid by Stuart's 
squadrons, only one Confederate soldier lost his life; 
not one of his men was taken prisoner; and only a 
few were wounded. They brought out one hundred 
and sixty-five captives, two hundred and sixty horses 
and mules, and a considerable quantity of small 
arms. Above all, they secured the information that 
McClellan's left wing was open to assault; and that 
Jackson could safely launch his troops against it 



LIEUTENANT ROBINS 101 

with the view of throwing it into confusion and 
pushing it back upon the centre of the Federal army. 
The abiHty of fifteen hundred men to ride com- 
pletely around one hundred and thirty-four thousand, 
not massed but strung out in a long line, and to ride 
too within five miles of their principal encampments, 
had the effect of shaking the confidence of the North 
in the vigilance and promptitude of the Federal 
Commander, and this was doubtless one of the in- 
fluences that led him, later on, to retreat to the 
protection of his gunboats anchored in James river. 



CHAPTER V 
The Marion of the West 



CHAPTER V 
THE MARION OF THE WEST 

General John H. Morgan was perhaps the 
most romantic of all the conspicuous figures associ- 
ated with the Confederate armies beyond the Alle- 
ghanies. No other officer of those armies was the 
hero of more amazing adventures or evinced more 
dauntless courage or more perfect self-possession in 
hazardous situations; he was at once the Western 
Mosby and the Western Stuart, the daring partisan 
and the dashing cavalry leader; or as his admiring 
comrades liked to characterize him, the Marion of 
the West, whose exploits rivaled those of the famous 
"Swamp Fox" of the Revolution. 

The numerous tales of bravery which are recorded 
of him illustrate at once his complete imperturb- 
ability in the most perilous circumstances, and his 
astounding resourcefulness in escaping unharmed 
from them. 

During the early occupation of Nashville by the 
Federals under General McCook, it occurred to Mor- 
gan, at that time simply a captain, that he might, 
by a ruse, decoy a large body of Federal troops into 
an ambush. Disguising himself as a rough farmer, 
and accompanied by one of his comrades, who as- 



106 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

sumed the like part, he drove a wagon to the city 
loaded down with bags of meal which he had bought 
of a country miller. Having found out beforehand 
the name of the hotel where General McCook ate 
his meals, he stopped his wagon in front of it, and 
entered as if for the purpose of getting dinner, but 
really for the purpose of talking with the Federal 
Commander if he should happen to have come in. 
Fortimately, the General in uniform was already 
seated at one of the tables, and Morgan perceived 
who he was at a glance. 

"Is this heah Gineral McCook," said he, when 
he had, with exaggerated clumsiness, shambled into 
the chair at his side. 

"That's my name," replied the General cordially. 

"Wall, Gineral," said Morgan, in slow and drawl- 
ing tones, "if thar's no Secesh 'bout, I've got sum'- 
pen ter tell you right heah. I live up close by 
Burk's Mills in the middle of a nest of red hot 
Seceshers and they swar' yer sojers shant hev a 
speck o' meal if they starve for it. But, Gineral, I 
got a wagon load of meal ground, and I hev' brung 
it down heah ter day, and it's now out thar in the 
street and you kin hev it if yer want it." 

General McCook, pleased by the loyal and help- 
ful spirit of the farmer, thanked him warmly for his 
generosity, and then graciously added: 

"Take the meal, my friend, to the Commissary. 
He will pay you for it in gold and silver." 



THE MARION OF THE WEST 107 

Morgan quietly finished his dinner; then rising 
from his seat as clumsily as he had sat down, 
bowed awkwardly to the General and shambled out 
of the room. 

After a half hour, he entered the Federal Head- 
quarters, where, he was told. General McCook would 
then be found. 

"Gineral," he said, "can't yer send one hundred 
and fifty men up thar to the neberhood of Burk's 
Mills? I'll guide 'em into that nest er traitors and 
seceshers; and they kin capture too a mighty big 
sight er meal." 

Again General McCook thanked him very heartily 
for his patriotic zeal. 

"The men, my friend," he said emphatically, "shall 
certainly be sent. What day shall we choose? Let 
the appointment be as early as possible. I suppose 
this is a busy time with you farmers, but when one's 
country calls, the plough itself must stop in the fur- 
row." 

After stoutly asserting his willingness to let every- 
thing go to ruin from neglect rather than lose the 
chance of seizing those "seceshers," the loyal farmer 
named the day and hour for the rendezvous. Wlien 
the Federal soldiers reached the spot thus agreed 
upon, they were confronted by Captain Morgan at 
the head of so many Confederate troopers that they 
surrendered without firing a shot. 



108 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

On another occasion, Morgan was returning on 
horseback from a raid alone when he saw ahead of 
him, in front of a house by the roadside, a Federal 
officer; and he inferred from sounds overheard by 
him that there were several soldiers inside the build- 
ing. He suspected that these men belonged to the 
Federal picket line, and that, without permission, 
they had left their posts. Being dressed in the full 
uniform of a higher Federal officer himself, he boldly 
rode up to the real Federal officer and peremptorily 
charged him and his comrades with deliberate neglect 
of duty. 

"Give me your pistol," he sternly commanded. 

The officer reluctantly complied. 

"Now order the men in the house to come out 
one by one and deliver up their arms. I shall go 
with you to headquarters and report you for aban- 
doning your post." 

Just as the last soldier handed over his pistol and 
carbine, a member of Morgan's band came up with 
four prisoners; six were then added to that number; 
and the ten were marched to a camp within the 
Confederate lines. 

Another story is told of Morgan and a telegraph 
operator at Lebanon, Kentucky, who was employed 
by the Federals, for, at the time of the incident, 
that town was in their possession. The operator 
had just forwarded to Nashville a telegram received 



THE MARION OF THE WEST 109 

from Louisville ordering the transfer to the latter 
city of all the prisoners of Morgan's command re- 
cently captured, as, at any hour, the Confederate 
partisan might make a dash for Nashville and carry 
them off. This suggestion caused the operator to 
feel very uncomfortable, as he afterwards related. 

"Who knows," he exclaimed to himself, "but that 
guerrilla may pounce like a hawk on me too. If I 
only had him here, wouldn't I put an end to his 
villainy !" 

Hearing the soimd of a horse's hoofs on the road 
outside, he went to the window to find out who the 
rider was. A man dressed in a butternut suit and 
wearing a shabby slouched hat had just dismounted 
and was tying his horse to a fence near the door. 
He soon entered the house. 

"What's the news?" he asked in drawling ac- 
cents that seemingly revealed Uttle interest in his 
own question. 

"No news," was the curt reply of the operator, 
who, with a yawn, sat down again at his instru- 
ment. 

The stranger leisurely picked up a copy of the 
Louisville Journal which lay on a desk at his right 
hand. 

"John Morgan is raiding again, I see," he re- 
marked as if speaking to himself, "what a pity that 
man cannot be caught!" 



110 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

The words seemed to strike a passionate chord in 
the operator's breast, for he jumped up from his 
seat, and walking backwards and forwards across 
the room in a state of vindictive rage, almost 
shouted out: 

"Yes, the scoundrel, the villain! If I only had 
him here, I'd blow his brains out this very moment! 
Just let him enter that door and he is a dead man!" 

The operator made a furious gesture, as if he 
were burning, not only to kill the partisan chief, 
but also to mangle and mutilate his body beyond 
all chance of recognition. 

The stranger quietly replaced the paper on the 
top of the desk; then rose from his seat, and stop- 
ping in front of the operator, — who, fuming and 
sputtering, was still striding up and down the room 
like a lunatic shut up in a cage, — said to him in his 
gentlest voice, as he held out towards him a pistol 
which he had taken from his hip pocket: 

"I am John Morgan. Now execute your threat." 

The operator stared at him aghast, and then in a 
state almost of collapse from sheer fright at the 
sound of that dreaded name, stammered out: 

"I, I — didn't know — I hadn't any idea — that you 
were Colonel Morgan, Sir — indeed. Sir, I didn't — I 
beg pardon. Sir, ten thousand times. Sir." 

The man as he spoke kept backing away, with 
his hands held out in the most deprecating manner, 



THE MARION OF THE WEST 111 

until he found himself squarely against the wall. 
His face was as pallid and his voice as tremulous 
as if he expected to be shot at once. 

"Be quick," said Morgan, looking at him sternly 
and contemptuously, "I have a message for Louis- 
ville to dictate. If you falsify it, your life will be 
the forfeit." 

The operator hastened to reseat himself at the 
instrument, a picture of crestfallen submissiveness; 
nor were his apprehensions lessened by the thought 
of the cocked pistol which Morgan held to his head 
while repeating, word by word, the misleading mes- 
sage which he wished to be forwarded. When it 
had been dispatched, with a promptness never 
before surpassed in that office, he said: 

"Now, let me have at once all the telegrams that 
you have sent or received during the last twenty- 
four hours." 

The operator hastily gathered them together and 
obsequiously placed them in Morgan's hands; who 
read them with close attention. Having given the 
operator a few stern words of warning to hold his 
tongue in the future, Morgan left the room, mounted 
his horse, and quietly rode away. 

One of the most audacious incidents recorded of 
Morgan is the following. Accompanied by a Con- 
federate officer, both disguised by Federal uniforms, 
he was making, with a dozen prisoners, for the pro- 



112 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

tection of the Confederate lines. Suddenly he found 
himself facing a body of two thousand blue-coats. 

"Halt," cried their commander, as he rode for- 
ward, "give the countersign." 

"Countersign!" exclaimed Morgan, assuming an 
air of indignation, "what do you mean by demand- 
ing the countersign of an officer of my rank? Order 
your companies to fall apart so as to give room for 
the passage of my men." 

The Federal prisoners with Morgan, instead of 
informing on him at once, silently entered into the 
spirit of his critical situation, as they were curious 
to see how far his ingenuity could assist him to 
escape. They did not look upon this conduct as 
treasonable because they were sure they could stop 
him should there be any prospect of his really 
getting away. Just as if they were acting as his 
escort, they followed him and his Confederate com- 
rade, without a word, between the two long files 
of Federal soldiers, and were careful to suppress all 
signs of their amusement over the deceptive part 
which they themselves were plajring for the moment. 
At one point in the path of the little cavalcade, 
several of the Federal officers stood so far out as 
to block their progress. "Move up," cried Morgan 
impatiently, "you are no better than deserters. 
Morgan will catch you yet." 

So soon as he and his fellow Confederate reached 
the last soldier in their passage between the files. 



THE MARION OF THE WEST 113 

they turned and waved their hands to the prison- 
ers; and before they could be either stopped or fired 
upon, leaped a fence and vanished in a body of 
thick woods that grew close at hand. 

In his numerous raids, Morgan was always ac- 
companied by a skillful telegraph operator, who 
carried his instrument behind his saddle. On one 
occasion, it was very important for him to find out 
whether there were any Federal troops at Louis- 
ville who could be transported in a hurry to Bowling 
Green to reinforce the large body stationed there, 
should this become necessary as the only means of 
intercepting him and his men while scouring the 
country behind the Federal lines. General Boyle 
was in command at Louisville, and General Granger 
at Bowling Green. Morgan advanced without in- 
terference to a station situated on the main railway 
joining the two cities. His operator was there 
ordered to attach his instrument to the wires and 
to put himself in direct communication with Gen- 
eral Boyle; Boyle was then informed, in a message 
sent in the name of General Granger, that Morgan 
had been seen in the neighborhood of Bowling 
Green; and that there was immediate danger of his 
attacking that town. How many troops could 
Boyle dispatch at the end of the next few hours to 
reinforce Granger? 

"There are no troops in Louisville who can be 
made at once available," was the prompt reply. 



114 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"Are there troops elsewhere who could be sent to 
Bowling Green? If so, where are they now? How 
soon could they be brought up to strengthen that 
town's defenses?" 

Boyle, in his answer to this second telegram, 
named the places where troops were then stationed; 
stated their exact number; and calculated the time 
within which they could be transported to Bowling 
Green. 

Having received this explicit and comprehensive 
reply, Morgan sent off his final telegram, in which 
he thanked General Boyle for giving him so much 
valuable information and praised him as "a very 
smart boy." This message was signed by him with 
his own name. 



CHAPTER VI 

Morgan Crosses the Ohio 



CHAPTER VI 

MORGAN CROSSES THE OHIO 

The boldest of General Morgan's exploits was 
his raid beyond the Ohio river in 1863. During 
that year, he was directed by General Bragg, who 
was hard pressed by General Rosecranz, to set out 
with a considerable body of troops towards Louis- 
ville, as a threatened attack on that city would be 
sure to create a diversion in favor of the Confeder- 
ate army, now falling back through Tennessee. 
Colonel Basil Duke, a soldier as intrepid and as 
enterprising in spirit as Morgan himself, was chosen 
to be the second in command. As the men started 
northward, they sang in concert: 

"Here's a health to Duke and Morgan, 
Drink it down. 
Here's a health to Duke and Morgan, 
Down, boys, down, drink it down." 

Breaking through the fierce opposition at the 
crossing of the Cumberland and defying the Federal 
cavalrymen gathering in his rear, Morgan advanced 
rapidly towards the Ohio river. On the fourth of 
July, he encountered several companies of Michigan 
troopers. 



118 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"Surrender" was the laconic and peremptory mes- 
sage which he sent to the Federal commander. 

"I shall not lower my flag on Independence 
Day," was the stout reply. 

In the battle which at once followed, Morgan 
lost one hundred men either killed or wounded, and 
was forced to make a wide detour in order to shake 
off the clutch of his gallant foe. In the next skir- 
mish, his brother, who was still a mere boy, the 
favorite of all his comrades and rash and brave to 
the last fibre, was left a corpse on the field, to the 
poignant grief of the whole command. 

Would Morgan halt on the bank of the Ohio at 
a point about forty mites west of Louisville, for 
which he was making, or would he cross it, with 
the intention of pushing his raid into the States of 
Indiana and Ohio, and at the end coming back into 
Kentucky by fording the river east of Cincinnati? 
This was a perilous enterprise which had only a 
bare chance of success; but for this very reason, it 
appealed all the more irresistibly to the intrepid 
partisan who now decided to undertake it. 

As he drew near to the Ohio, he sent a company 
ahead to capture two steamers which were lying in 
the stream at the point where he had planned to 
cross; and on his own arrival there, he found these 
boats with steam up and ready to carry his men 
over. There was such a heavy fog prevailing that 



MORGAN CROSSES THE OHIO 119 

the other shore was entirely hidden from view; but 
fearing lest the Federal cavalry in pursuit of him 
should appear at any minute, he marched his troops 
on board in spite of the mist. Before the ropes, 
however, could be cast off, there came the roar of 
a cannon and the rattle of musketry from the 
Indiana side. The fog now lifted and a few shots 
from one of his Parrott guns caused the Federal 
militia, which had done the firing, to skurry away 
to a wooded hill in the rear. 

The transfer of Morgan's troopers now began, 
and when one half had succeeded in crossing, a 
small steamboat paddled suddenly in sight and 
started to shell the two Confederate deta,chments, 
now separated by the stream. The situation for 
Morgan's men became highly critical, — one section 
was waiting on one shore for the other section, 
which was now held to the opposite shore. At any 
moment, the Federal cavalry in pursuit might come 
up on the Kentucky side; while the militia posted 
on the hill back of the Indiana bank might already 
have been reinforced. The two wings could thus be 
easily crushed without being able to afford each 
other any assistance; but after a sharp duel with 
the Parrott guns, the steamboat drew off, and the 
Confederates on the Kentucky bank took advantage 
of its retreat to join their comrades, anxiously ex- 
pecting them on the Indiana side. 



120 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Once more the march was taken up. The van- 
guard as they advanced again sang: 

!* Here's a health to Duke and Morgan, 
Drink it down." 

And the rear guard replied in tones that could be 
heard by the men in front in spite of the distance: 

"The race is not to them that's got 
The longest legs to run. 
Nor the battle to that people 
That shoots the biggest gun." 

As Morgan's veterans plunged deeper into the 
country, they ran up against large bodies of militia 
barricaded behind the rail fences; but being un- 
trained, they were easily dispersed. The people 
scattered at the Confederates* approach as a flock 
of chickens scatters at the shadow of a hawk. Their 
larders were found wide open, and their abandoned 
kitchen stoves were covered with cooked or half 
baked meats and vegetables, which the hungry 
invaders did not scruple to take and devour. Only 
one house was set on fire, and this was thus treated 
because it had been used as an improvised fortress. 
Everywhere the wires were cut to prevent the trans- 
mission of news of the Confederate advance, which 
would have led at once to a concentration of hostile 
troops to block all farther progress. 

There was stationed at Cincinnati a large body of 
Federal soldiers, and as Morgan drew near to this 



MORGAN CROSSES THE OHIO 121 

city, he was aware that the chances of his inter- 
ception had been increased by its proximity; but 
this did not cause him to hesitate to continue his 
march straight for that place. He was hopeful 
that he had confused the reports as to his move- 
ments by his mystifying telegrams; and that the 
greater number of the Federal troops originally 
concentrated there, had, in consequence, been broken 
up into widely dispersed detachments, which were 
searching for him in the wrong directions. His own 
force was very much reduced by deaths, wounds, 
and captures; but he was confident that he could 
beat off whatever small body of men might still be 
on guard in Cincinnati, should they leave their post 
there and venture outside. He concluded not to 
enter its streets even if no opposition was met with 
as he approached the suburbs, for he anticipated 
that each house would be made a small fortress; 
and that his soldiers, ignorant of the town, would 
become too widely separated to be called together 
again in their original number. 

In passing around the northern suburbs of Cin- 
cinnati, the men were perplexed by the intricacies 
of the roads; and they also found it difficult to 
keep in touch with each other, as the track of the 
first column of troopers was frequently blotted out 
by the clouds of dust that followed them, so that 
the second column were often compelled, in the 



122 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

general darkness, to guess at the way which their 
comrades had taken. All were now so exhausted by 
hard travel that many, in their drowsiness, slipped 
from their horses to the ground, and when they had 
picked themselves up, stumbled under the cover of 
the shrubbery, and throwing themselves down, went 
fast to sleep. 

Although most of the horses were sprung from the 
thoroughbred stock of Kentucky, yet few of them 
remained fresh after their journey of a thousand 
miles. Many that started off with the raid had 
long since given out and been exchanged by their 
owners for common horses belonging to farmers in 
Indiana and Ohio; but so great was the affection 
felt for the abandoned steeds, that, in parting with 
them, the troopers were seen to shed tears of poign- 
ant regret. 

Morgan had now pushed far to the east of Cin- 
cinnati; and at Williamsburg, he decided to halt 
men and horses for the night in order that they 
might obtain the rest which they so much needed. 
The spirits of the soldiers were greatly refreshed by 
a long and deep sleep; and next morning they 
awoke in as gay a temper as when they rode out 
of Tennessee towards the North. There were two 
violins, a banjo, and a guitar in the camp and 
several white and black musicians. The columns 
were now close to the bank of the Ohio, and across 




u 



MORGAN CROSSES THE OHIO 123 

its waters they could see the green hills of Ken- 
tucky. The chords of "Old Kentucky Home" were 
struck on the several instruments, and the strain 
was taken up by the voices of group after group 
until it echoed far over the water. 

Breaking camp, the head of the column was turned 
straight towards BufRngton Island, where it was 
Morgan's intention to cross the river by a ford 
which was in use at that point. Scouts sent ahead 
returned and reported that the direct road to this 
ford was blocked by a force of three hundred Fed- 
eral infantrymen, who had thrown up formidable 
breastworks. Federal cavalrymen were already in 
swift pursuit of the retiring Confederates, and it 
looked as if they would be caught between the two 
detachments of the enemy and either killed or cap- 
tured. Hurrying forward, several hundred troopers 
were able, by a short detour, under the cover of 
fog, to reach the head of the ford in safety and to 
cross to the southern side. The remainder found 
themselves practically surrounded; Federal forces 
assaulted them from behind and in front at the 
same moment; and to make their position more 
hopeless, several gunboats, which had come up the 
river, poured a heavy fire into their unprotected 
ranks. The few who were not captured or killed 
escaped by dispersing in small bodies and working 
away from the river. 



124 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Morgan had succeeded in reaching the middle of 
the river safely, when, seeing the plight of his men 
on the Ohio bank, he turned his horse's head and 
swam back to share their fate. As he came ashore, 
the negro banjo player, whose name was Box, 
plunged into the water to escape to the Kentucky 
side. 

"Come back," shouted the General to him. "You 
will certainly drown." 

"No, Marse John," cried Box, "if dey ketch you, 
dey prole (parole) you, but if dey ketch dis nigger 
in a Free State, he ain't gwine to git away while 
dis war lasts." 

The boy succeeded in swimming without mishap 
the long distance across the river and returned un- 
hurt to his Kentucky home, there to stuff his family 
with marvellous tales of his part in the great raid, 
and to soothe his own war-worn spirit by daily 
repetition of the plantation melodies which he had 
played on that famous march. 

During six days, Morgan was able to elude his 
pursuers; but at the end of that time, had to give 
himself up, together with two hundred brave com- 
rades who had followed him to the last ditch. With 
half a dozen of these faithful men, he was shut up 
in the cells of the Ohio State Prison. The constant 
movement in the open air which had marked their 
lives during the raid, so disastrously terminated. 



MORGAN CROSSES THE OHIO 125 

made their confinement within four dark bare walls, 
in a very close atmosphere, almost intolerable to 
them, and they resolved, if possible, to effect their 
escape from the toils. 

But how was this to be brought about? Fortu- 
nately for them, they had access to each other 
from cell to cell during the night and day alike, 
which enabled them to act in concert in carrying 
out the plan that they finally agreed on. The 
only practicable way of getting out was by forcing 
an entrance to the basement; and to accomplish 
this, they were compelled to bore through a ce- 
ment floor, which was almost as hard as if it had 
been laid in granite. Several men were soon engaged 
in the work of excavation under the cover of the 
bed in one of the cells; others were employed in 
making ropes by tearing the sheets and ticking into 
strips and twisting them stoutly together; while 
still others were converting ever3rthing about their 
quarters that was at all suitable for the purpose 
into uncouth weapons for self-defense and attack. 

During the time the prisoners were so occupied, 
they had to show the most unvarying prudence, for 
the sentinel was likely to appear amongst them at 
any moment of the day or night. At night, he regu- 
larly visited the doors of the cells once every three 
bom's and thrust his lantern between the bars to 
find out whether the men were all there and asleep; 



126 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

and not content with this, would often return un- 
expectedly, with his footfall smothered by the use 
of rubber slippers, which produced no sound. But 
the prisoners were able to get around him in this 
ruse by dropping, before they retired, small particles 
of coal on the floor in the passage, which crunched 
under his tread and thus gave ample warning of his 
approach. 

The men engaged in boring the hole under the 
bed found their task seemingly interminable; but 
just when they began really to despair of ever pene- 
trating the floor, which had at a certain depth 
changed from cement to brick, a brick suddenly 
fell through, leaving a considerable hole; and on 
widening this hole, they discovered that they had 
reached an air chamber running the entire length 
of the cells. Previous to this success, they had dis- 
posed of all the rubbish produced by the improvised 
chisel by hiding it carefully in the bed ticking; but 
afterwards, there was ample room for its conceal- 
ment in the air chamber. 

At the end of this chamber, they came upon a 
granite wall. One by one, when the presence of a 
single person was not so apt to be missed by the 
sentinel, each took up, in his turn, the task of chip- 
ping away at this solid barrier. Twenty-three days 
p?ssed before the wall had been penetrated and the 
soft earth lying beyond it reached. They began at 



MORGAN CROSSES THE OHIO 127 

once to dig a tunnel, without the slightest reason to 
know where it would end. A whole month had been 
consumed when a blow of the rude instrument with 
which they had been so patiently excavating, opened 
up a ray of sunshine, and on widening the orifice, 
the daylight entered. But for the time being, they 
were not ready to escape; nor was that hour the 
proper one for the trial. They quietly waited until 
the arrival of the second night. In the meanwhile, 
they were very suspicious of the sentinel, and 
watched for his return with a feeling of acute sus- 
pense. 

The afternoon preceding the night fixed for their 
attempt to escape having turned out to be very 
cloudy, they looked forward with confidence to a 
heavy fall of rain and more than common darkness, 
which they knew would make it easier for them to 
carry out their plan. When the sentinel entered 
for the last time, he handed General Morgan a let- 
ter. It ran as follows: 

"My dear General, — I feel certain that you are 
going to try to get out of prison; but for your sake, 
don't you try it. You will only be taken prisoner 
again and made to suffer more than you do now." 

The name attached to this kind and anxious note 
was that of a poor Irish woman whom Morgan had 
known in Kentucky. Was it genuine? If so, it was 
placed in his hands at a singular moment. Suppos- 



128 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

ing that his design was suspected by friendly persons 
outside the walls, was this their method of setting 
him on the guard? The prison authorities had, of 
course, read the letter before it was delivered, and it 
must have had the effect of increasing their vigil- 
ance. 

It was too late, however, to pause or take a back- 
ward step. Twelve o'clock that night had been 
chosen as the moment for the start. The prisoners 
at the usual hour were locked in the cells, and the 
sentinel returned later on to find out whether they 
were asleep in their beds; but they allowed some 
time to pass before they arose, for fear lest he might 
steal back, with the sound of his footstep carefully 
muffled. 

Their first act was to stuff their flannel shirts 
with the bed clothes and to place them in the beds 
to simulate their bodies; the next, to descend noise- 
lessly into the air chamber, which was now per- 
fectly dark. The General, the last to enter, struck 
a match and asked in a low voice whether all the 
men, seven in number, were present, and whether 
they had ready to hand the rude cutlasses which 
they had, during their leisure, made out of their 
dinner knives. All responded in the affirmative. 

It took but a minute to reach the tunnel. Every- 
one among them knew that the fateful moment 
had arrived. It was quite possible that, as soon as 



MORGAN CROSSES THE OHIO 129 

they issued forth, a sentinel would halt them or 
the prison dog betray them by baying at them. 
When they got out to the surface, they saw, to their 
delight, that rain was falling and that the night was 
excessively dark, in consequence of which the sen- 
tinel had retired to the shelter of his box and the 
dog to that of his kennel. Gliding noiselessly to 
the first wall, they crossed it by means of a rope 
ladder which they had made in prison of the sheets 
and blankets. At the second wall, they lifted one 
of their comrades on their shoulders, and he, from 
the top, let the rope down on the further side; but 
before they used it, all stopped for a few minutes 
in an empty sentry box to change to the civilian 
clothes which they had been able, through their 
jailor, to collect while shut up in the cells. 

By the end of an hour, the time consumed in their 
daring enterprise, they had succeeded in getting out 
of the prison, and they at once broke up in groups 
to secure a greater chance of avoiding suspicion and 
escaping detection. General Morgan, with a single 
comrade named Hines, soon boarded a local train 
just about to start for Cincinnati. In taking his 
seat in the cars, he found next to him a Federal 
officer, with whom he became so genial that they 
exchanged drinks. As the train passed in sight of 
the prison where the Confederates had been so long 
confined, the Federal officer pointed it out to his 
new friend. 



130 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"There," said he, "is the hotel where that guer- 
rilla, Morgan, and his men are spending their leisure 
hours." 

Morgan looked at the building with great inter- 
est. 

"Let us hope," he remarked drily, "that the fellow 
will make up his mind to board there the balance 
of the war, for he is a damnable nuisance." 

Knowing that, before the hour the train was due 
to arrive at Cincinnati, the telegraph would spread 
far and wide the news of their escape, Morgan and 
Hines decided that they would jump from the car 
while in motion and endeavor to make their way to 
the Ohio river across the open country. In this 
manner alone could they hope to escape capture. 
Hines leaped and fell headlong into the ditch at the 
side of the roadbed. Morgan followed and struck 
squarely on his feet. 

"What do you mean by jumping from the train," 
exclaimed a Federal soldier who was guarding that 
section of the track. His voice was gruff and his 
attitude threatening. 

"I live here," replied Morgan quietly, "why should 
I go all the way to town simply to return to my 
home here on foot?" 

The river was soon reached, and there they found 
a small boy in a boat apparently ready to cross. 

"What are you waiting for," asked Morgan. 



MORGAN CROSSES THE OHIO 131 

"For my load. The people up yonder will soon 
bring it.'* 

"What will they pay you for carrying it over?" 

"Two dollars." 

"Then take us over first, and we will pay you 
that sum." 

Obtaining a horse and money, on the other side, 
from a lady known by them to be in sympathy 
with the Southern cause, they set out for Tennessee 
in the guise of commissaries purchasing cattle for 
the Federal army. In one town, they rode unchal- 
lenged through an entire regiment of the enemy 
which had been sent there to intercept Morgan's 
scattered men. Just after crossing the Tennessee 
river, he dismounted to rest his horse, which had 
become thoroughly exhausted by the rapid journey 
from the Ohio. He had hardly touched ground 
when he was fired on, but before the shot could be 
repeated, he had leaped into his saddle and escaped 
by turning immediately into the undergrowth of a 
neighboring mountain. Pickets were soon thrown 
around its base by the large Federal force which 
had hurried up, and there seemed to be no hope of 
his breaking through the cordon. That night, how- 
ever, he decided that he must abandon his refuge 
even if he had to kill the first man who tried to 
stop him. Leading his horse, he quietly descended 
the mountain in the darkness, and coming suddenly 



132 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

upon a picket, was about to shoot him when he 
observed that he was fast asleep as he leaned 
heavily against a tree. Morgan lowered his pistol 
and passed silently on. 

Stopping for rest after daylight, he found him- 
self in front of a small, one-room farm cabin. Enter- 
ing, he soon perceived that the family were Northern 
sympathizers. They gave him a doubly warm wel- 
come when he told them that he was, not only a 
Unionist, but also a quartermaster of the Federal 
army who had been ordered to supply all the 
country people favoring the Northern cause with 
sugar and coffee. During this conversation, the 
wife of the farmer was in "bed, but when she heard 
that they were so soon to receive a large quantity of 
these coveted articles, then so rarely obtained, she 
leaped to the floor without stopping to clothe her- 
self more modestly. 

"Thank God for that," she exclaimed, "we ain't 
seed any rale coffee up here since Kingdom come. 
I'm goin' to cook yer a fine supper right away." 

"Didn't some of the rebels attempt to cross the 
river today?" asked the General, as he paused in 
his consumption of the excellent meal which was 
soon set before him on the rude table. 

"That they did," cried the old woman, "and our 
men kilt some of um and driv' the rest away. 
Those that got over took to the mountains like 



MORGAN CROSSES THE OTTTO 133 

wildcats. But they will get kilt too, for every road 
is watched." 

"It is important for me to reach Athens to- 
morrow," said the General, apparently taking no 
notice of her remark. "If I don't, it will not be 
possible for me to obtain your shai'e of that coffee 
and sugar. But I don't know the way and I must 
have a guide." 

"Why, Paul," said the woman, "can't you show 
the Captain the path through the fai'm which will 
take him right thar what- he wants to go?" 

Before the fai'mer could answer, Morgan turned to 
him and said: 

"The night is very cold. It is only fair I should 
pay you for your trouble. Here is ten dollars in 
gold." 

The sight of the yellow metal, and the prospect 
of hastening the arrival of the coffee and sugar, 
tempted the farmer too strongly for him to resist. 
He rose at once to obey his wife. When Morgan 
parted with the countryman, he had to make his 
way through a region which was overrun by the 
Federal forces; and at one point in his road, he only 
escaped capture by hiding himself in the recesses of 
the thick undergrowth near at hand. Everywhere, 
he was recognized by persons who had often seen 
him before; but without his identity having been 
betrayed to the enemy on a single occasion, he ar- 
rived safely within the Confederate lines. 



CHAPTER VII 
The Boy Artillerist 



CHAPTER VII 

THE BOY ARTILLERIST 

If we will read the history of all great national 
armies, we will find that few of their officers below 
the rank of General have won such fame, by their 
skill and bravery, either in the course of one cam- 
paign or of many campaigns, that their names have 
become almost as renowned as the names of the 
commanders who directed all the manoeuvres of the 
different divisions at the critical hour. The Army 
of Northern Virginia is an exception among the 
number. It is true that, when we recall the many 
triumphs of that army, it is of its three preeminent 
leaders, Lee, Jackson, and Stuart, — the serene and 
far-sighted strategist, the titanic thunderbolt, and 
the daring cavalryman, — that we first think; but as 
our thoughts sweep back over those fields of battle, 
so long deprived of all their scars by the soft touch 
of man and nature at peace, there rises before us a 
fourth figure, — the figure of John Pelham, the boy 
artillerist, which is clothed, though in an entirely 
different manner, in an even finer raiment of mili- 
tary glory than the personalities of the three great 
commanders under whom he served. 

Both Jackson and Stuart sank under that mortal 
stroke of fate which comes to all soldiers, when it 



138 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

does come, as a matter of course; and so did Pel- 
ham; but unlike Jackson, Stuart, and Lee, his 
whole military existence was literally passed in the 
smoke and flame of the cannon's mouth. From the 
moment the fighting began to the moment it ended, 
he was never absent from the immediate zone of 
the hottest firmg; from the first call of the bugle, 
the atmosphere in which he moved was an atmos- 
phere that fairly rocked imder the terrific concus- 
sion of artillery and musketry. His duty took him 
at once to the border post of imminent peril, and 
there in the deadly breach it kept him until the 
wave of battle, like a wave of the sea shaken by 
an earthquake, had receded and died away alto- 
gether. 

Imagine how supremely dauntless, how romantic- 
ally brave, must have been the man who, in such 
an army as the Army of Northern Virginia, — an 
army of heroes such as the world has rarely seen, — 
was never spoken of except as the Gallant Pelham! 
His comrades and his countrymen did not refer to 
him or think of him as John Pelham, or as Major 
Pelham; to them, he was always the Gallant Pel- 
ham. In the midst of that host of intrepid men, 
he was the only one to whom this splendid popular 
badge of honor, as expressive as it was simple, was 
by common consent allowed. He had received it 
from General Lee himself, and it had at once been 



THE BOY ARTILLERIST 139 

accepted by all as a just attribution to be forever 
coupled with his name. 

Pelham was only twenty-four years of age when 
he was killed; and yet, as we shall see, he had, from 
the first great encounter of the war, although a mere 
boy in years as well as in appearance, been one of 
the strong arms on which his commanders leaned at 
the most critical turn of the fighting. No one thought 
of his youth; rather they thought of him as they 
would have thought of a veteran who could point 
to an hundred scars on his own person. It was only 
after his death on the battle field that the minds of 
men reverted to his youth. 

He entered the Military Academy at West Point 
as a cadet from the State of Alabama when only 
eighteen years of age. While there, he won distinc- 
tion in several ways that foreshadowed the qualities 
and capacities exhibited by him in the engagements 
of the Civil War. First of all, he was noted for 
his unswerving directness and perfect self-possession. 
It was said of him there that, whenever he crossed 
the parade ground, he kept to a mathematically 
straight line; and that the whole corps might raise 
a shout in his rear simultaneously, and without ap- 
parent cause, and yet he would not stop or look 
around to ascertain the reason for the sudden uproar. 
He was very generally thought to be the most 
skillful athlete at the Military Academy, especially 



140 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

in the departments of fencing and boxing, and had 
hardly an equal in the exercises of the riding school. 
It is recorded of him that the Prince of Wales, who 
visited West Point in 1860, spoke with astonished 
admiration of his remarkable feats in horsemanship, 
for which he had been trained from boyhood by 
his life on a Southern plantation. The tradition of 
his extraordinary athletic and riding accomplish- 
ments lingered for many years at the Military 
Academy, and were among the manly memories of 
the great school related with undiminished enthusi- 
asm to each successive class of "plebes." 

After war broke out, Pelham offered his services 
to the Confederacy, and ^t an early date was placed 
in charge of the ordnance concentrated at the start 
at Lynchburg. This duty, imposed on him on the 
threshold of his career, shaped the whole of its sub- 
sequent course, — he became an officer of artillery at 
the beginning, and remained in that arm of the 
service until his last hour. 

When the Confederate army, under Beauregard, 
was gathering in the vicinity of Manassas, in expec- 
tation of McDowell's advance, Pelham was busy 
with all the energy and ardor of his temper, in 
drilling the members of Alberti's Battery, encamped 
near Winchester many miles away; but before the 
smoke began to float over the battle field on the 
banks of Bull Run, he had arrived at the front; 



THE BOY ARTILLERIST 141 

where he hurried to take up with his guns a forward 
position so fully exposed to fire that a distinguished 
officer, who had accompanied him so far, quickly 
rode away, with the remark: 

"If you are fool enough to stay here, I am not." 
So fearless was Pelham's conduct during this 
battle, the first in which he had taken part, and so 
skillfully did he handle his guns, that he at once 
drew on himself the eyes of Stuart; indeed, so deeply 
impressed was that commander with his success as 
an officer under such a supreme test that he en- 
trusted him, after the victory had been won, with 
the organization of a battery to consist of six pieces 
of Horse Artillery. 

The men whom Pelham picked out to make up 
this battery, which, in time, came to be the most 
famous in the Army of Northern Virginia, were 
principally chosen from the regiments furnished by 
the State of Alabama. Some of these cannoneers 
had been recruited in the neighborhood of his home 
in that State, and had personally known him from 
childhood. One of the guns, which soon won a gen- 
eral reputation for the efficiency with which it was 
worked, was always loaded and fired by French 
Creoles from Mobile. Pelham named them his 
*' Napoleon Detachment." They disclosed their 
French sympathies and emotions by singing the 
Marseillaise whenever they went into battle. 



142 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

This was the first conspicuous scene in Pelham's 
career. The battery which he now organized was 
the nucleus of the celebrated batteries of horse ar- 
tillery which formed so invaluable a section of 
Stuart's command, and shared, either partly or 
wholly under Pelham's direction, in all the principal 
battles in which the officer was engaged. He was 
perhaps the youngest man to hold so important a 
position in this arm of the Confederate service. He 
was still a boy in appearance as well as in years. 

The daring which he displayed at First Manassas 
was to be repeated on every field on which he fought 
thereafter; it was noted that, as soon as the enemy 
began retiring, his guns- were rushed far ahead of 
the Confederate infantry to shell the retreating 
ranks; and that, whenever the cavalry at full tilt 
went into action, these guns accompanied them at 
the same high rate of speed. The horse artillery 
always entered a battle at a gallop; it withdrew at 
a snail's pace. In the course of the fighting. Pel- 
ham is said to have shown the gayety of a school 
boy on the playground; and he frequently spoke of 
a battle where he had been more reckless than 
usual in exposing himself to danger as a "jolly good 
fight." 

When the Confederate army, after Manassas, fell 
back from the general line of the Rappahannock, to 
Pelham was assigned the supreme duty of guarding 



THE BOY ARTILLERIST 143 

the rear against concentrated attack, and of closing 
the fords to prevent the enemy's passage until the 
main force had got well away. This duty he per- 
formed successfully. 

The next battle in which he was actually engaged 
was the Battle of Williamsburg, which General John- 
ston fought while retreating from the entrenchments 
around Yorktown; and so inspiring was Pelham's 
example on this field that it was said at the time 
that he had, by his skill and intrepidity, "converted 
raw militia into veterans." At Cold Harbor, in the 
course of the Seven Days' Campaign, he advanced 
one piece of artillery under his own personal direc- 
tion fully one third of a mile ahead of the Confed- 
erate position. During an hour, this was the only 
gun of the Confederate right wing that was firing; 
and it held its place although the shells of an entire 
Federal battery were discharged against it. 

So soon as the battle of Second Manassas opened, 
he pushed his battery at a gallop into the midst of 
the sharpshooters thrown out in front of the Federal 
army; nor did he order the horses to be halted until 
the guns had come almost up to the line of the 
massed columns. As Stonewall Jackson looked on 
at the cannoneers, so dangerously posted and yet 
firing into the ranks of the enemy as coolly as if 
from some distant hill, he said to Stuart, in his dry, 
laconic way: 



144 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"If you have another Pelham, give him to me." 

At Sharpsburg, Pelham had charge of most of the 
artillery operating on the Confederate right wing, 
which was under the command of Stonewall Jackson 
in person. So incessantly did his guns roar, so much 
daring did he display in advancing them, and so ef- 
ficiently did he work them, that Jackson, who was 
rarely given to bursts of praise and who was one of 
the least impulsive of men, exclaimed: 

"Every army should have a Pelham on each 
flank." 

And when General Lee abandoned the heights of 
Antietam and passed across the Potomac to the 
Virginia side, Pelham posted his horse artillery op- 
posite the ford at Shepherdstown, perhaps the most 
vital of all the fords, and held back the enemy with 
a firmness and tenacity which they found it impos- 
sible to break down; and he only retired at last 
when further resistance had been made unnecessary 
by the safe withdrawal of the Confederate troops in 
the direction of Winchester. 

An interval of rest and recuperation for the Con- 
federate and Federal armies now followed, during 
which, in the beautiful home of friends on the banks 
of the Opequan, Pelham passed the last autumn of 
his life. There he renewed, under the magnificent 
oaks and sycamores that surrounded the house, that 
love of nature and natural scenery which he had 



THE BOY ARTILLERIST 145 

first acquired amid the scenes of his early boyhood 
in Alabama. He found great pleasure too in wander- 
ing alone through the distant woods and fields. In 
his intercourse with his friends under this hospitable 
roof-tree, he revealed more conspicuously than ever 
that sweetness of temper, simplicity of character, 
and courtesy of manner, which had always seemed 
to those who knew him well to set off so beauti- 
fully the stern underlying qualities of his nature as 
exhibited in the flame and smoke of battle. 

But in the midst of the happiness of this peaceful 
rural seat, his thoughts were never long turned 
away from the enemy, who were now encamped in 
Virginia, and were expected to move at an early 
day. From the hour when Burnside began to de- 
scend from Aldie, on the east side of the Blue Ridge 
Mountains, he found Pelham's artillery hotly and 
pertinaciously disputing every foot of his progress 
towards the Rappahannock. So resolute and fearless 
was Pelham, in fact, that quite often he would not 
draw back until the foe had come up to a point 
that appeared to be only a few feet from the muzzle 
of his most forward gim. 

On a certain day, he had pushed one piece of his 
artillery very much ahead of the rest, and it was in 
imminent danger of being captured; the enemy, 
indeed, were marching straight up to it. At this 
critical moment, Pelham was handed an order from 



146 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Stuart to fall back. So hot was the fire that his 
men had already retired precipitately from the 
ground, but he lingered for a few minutes longer 
alone. He loaded the piece himself and set it off, 
apparently in the very face of the attacking force; 
then he quietly mounted one of the wheel horses 
and started all four off with the gun at a gallop. 
A fusillade followed him, and the horse he rode fell 
in his tracks; he instantly cut the traces, and 
mounting the other wheel horse, started off a second 
time at a gallop with the gun. The second horse, 
like the first, was soon shot and disabled; again he 
cut the traces, and mounting one of the two lead- 
ers, started off the third time at a gallop. The 
third horse also was in a few minutes struck to the 
ground; not hesitating one moment, he cut the 
traces of this horse, and mounting the fourth and 
last, succeeded in rushing the gun off the field 
without any mishap either to it or himself. 

It was probably during these operations on the 
Rappahannock that a stirring scene which revealed 
the celerity, efficiency, and fearlessness of Pelham's 
battery occurred. It was witnessed by a Confed- 
erate officer who had fallen a prisoner in the hands 
of the enemy. A stream ran between the lines of 
the two armies. On the Confederate side, a road 
which wound behind the rampart of broken hills 
abutting on the bank of this stream, was, from the 



THE BOY ARTILLERIST 147 

Federal position opposite, exposed to full view for 
the space of two hundred yards. Down this high- 
way, a long Confederate wagon train was compelled 
to pass, and while they were fully protected during 
the time they were screened by the hills, they were 
in immediate danger of destruction from the fire of 
a powerful Federal battery just as soon as they 
emerged to sight in the open section of the road. 
Before reaching this section, each driver, by terrific 
blows of his heavy whip, would start his mules off 
at top speed; and standing up in his stirrups, halloo- 
ing in his loudest voice, and continuing to flog with 
all his might, would endeavor to rush his clumsy 
wagon unharmed along the unsheltered part of the 
road to the security of the hill at the other end. 
As each wagon came into view, the Federal battery 
would discharge a round of shrieking shells at the 
rapidly moving target, with the natural effect of 
further hastening the pace of the frightened driver 
and his mules. 

About a quarter of a mile back of the first line 
of hills, there rose another and a higher line, with 
their top covered with a dense growth of trees; but, 
on the side that fell away to the hollow between 
the two ridges, entirely clear of forest. Just at the 
time when the Federal battery was about to direct 
an increased fire at the open section of the road, 
two pieces of horse artillery belonging to Pelham's 



148 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

battery galloped out of the bosom of the wood 
growing on the second ridge and began to descend 
along the bare slope at the same high rate of speed. 
Disappearing from sight in the bottom, they reap- 
peared on the top of the line of hills, overlooking 
the river, which confronted the position of the Fed- 
eral battery. The horses, straining at their harness, 
continued to advance at a gallop, with the can- 
noneers either bestriding them or clinging to those 
parts of the guns where they could find a footing. 

Suddenly, the horses were halted, and the men 
leaped to the ground and began to ram the loads 
into the muzzles. Hardly a minute seemed to pass 
before there was a puff of white smoke; the roar of 
an explosion followed, and simultaneously a bolt 
struck one of the cannon of the Federal battery. A 
second shell shrieked from the other Confederate 
gun almost at the same instant; a third, a fourth, 
a fifth, — all of which reached their mark or re- 
bounded very close to it. 

So astonished at first were the Federal cannoneers 
that it was not until the sixth shell had been fired 
by the two puny Confederate guns that the Federal 
battery responded; and when it did reply, although 
this battery was opposing as many as six guns to 
two, it was unable to discharge a greater number 
of shells than its small Confederate rival. At last 
outmatched, in spite of its superior weight in metal. 



THE BOY ARTILLERIST 149 

it withdrew out of range and declined to exchange 
further shots at all. 

But the most celebrated exploit in the military- 
career of Pelham was yet to occur; and this exploit, 
as we shall see, was entirely in harmony with that 
spirit of reckless daring which he had already dis- 
played so many times in the forefront of the battle 
field. The great armies of Burnside and Lee had 
taken their respective positions on the opposite 
heights looking down on the Rappahannock at 
Fredericksburg. The hills on the north bank of the 
river were crowned with earthworks as a bulwark 
for a long Hne of Federal batteries, which were 
ready at the word of command to hurl thousands 
of shells across the broad plain spread out between 
the two hostile forces. The stream ran at the base 
of these fortified hills, and from its southern bank 
the lowland rolled away to the foot of the high 
ground where the entrenched Confederate army 
awaited the onset of the foe. Burnside had de- 
cided to throw his troops across the Rappahannock 
by means of pontoon bridges, and under the pro- 
tection of the guns on the heights behind them, to 
march them straight over this plain to attack the 
Confederate position. 

It was the morning of December 13th, 1862. A 
heavy fog veiled the surface of the valley and hid 
from view the divisions of the enemy, which had 



150 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS ^ 

crossed the stream at an early hour and been drawn 
up by their officers in battle array on the south 
bank while they were still invisible. 

Lee, Jackson, and Stuart about this time mounted 
their horses and rode down behind the line of Con- 
federate bayonets. Stuart, when they arrived near 
the spot where his artillery was stationed, quietly 
beckoned to Pelham, and on his quickly coming up, 
gave him an order in a low voice. Pelham, having 
saluted, returned to his post, and in a few minutes 
was to be seen galloping down towards the plain, 
followed by his Napoleon gun manned by his French 
Creole cannoneers. This gun had been captured at 
Cold Harbor in the campaign of the Seven Days 
Battles; and it had thundered louder than any other 
in his battery in the hottest fighting at Second 
Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Aldie. 

Pelham, had he preferred, could have sent one of 
his officers to discharge the duty which Stuart had 
imposed, but the task was one peculiarly agreeable 
to him as it gave him another chance to rush his 
Napoleon ahead of his own columns into the very 
teeth of the enemy. The position which he now 
took up was far out on the plain and in the very 
path of the approaching Federal army; and he made 
himself the most conspicuous target by keeping his 
seat on horseback at the very moment he was forc- 
ing his men to lie down. 



THE BOY ARTILLERIST 151 

At first, the blanket of mist was so thick that the 
only proof of the enemy's presence was given by the 
music of the military bands that accompanied the 
different corps. Gradually, the fog lifted as the 
rays of the morning sun grew warmer, and a mag- 
nificent and most formidable spectacle was revealed 
to the eyes of the waiting cannoneers. A vast host 
of blue-coats, marshaled in battle line, with their 
starry flags held aloft, and their bayonets rising like 
a forest above their heads, and their metal accoutre- 
ments glittering in the light, were marching forward 
with a steady tramp which resounded even from 
that distance. 

Here were but a single gun and a handful of can- 
noneers in the very path of this mighty army. The 
only possible supporters of these brave men were 
entrenched far behind on the southern heights; and 
to make their situation the more precarious, the 
batteries on the north side of the Rappahannock 
began to hurl a hurricane of shells in every direction 
over that part of the plain which spread out ahead 
of the advancing Federal columns. 

Pelham's gun faced the left wing of the Federal 
hosts, composed of Meade's Division. Just as soon 
as it came in range, he opened a rapid fire on its 
ranks; and he kept this up until Doubleday's Divi- 
sion, wheeling to the left, marched to its assistance. 
He continued to pour one shrieking shell after 



152 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

another into this reinforced mass; and at last it re- 
coiled in confusion; but soon reformed and came on 
again. His single gun was now exposed to the con- 
centrated fire of at least five battalions attached to 
these two Federal Divisions. Amidst the tremendous 
roar that was shaking earth and sky, the Creole 
cannooneers could be heard singing the Marseillaise 
as blithely as if they were taking part in some grand 
review, while Pelham cahnly continued to give his 
orders from the saddle. 

All this time, the entire Confederate army posted 
on the hills, and a large part of the Federal on the 
plain, were looking on at the duel going on with 
such odds against the youthful artillerist. 

"It is glorious," exclaimed General Lee, giving 
voice to his admiration, "to see such courage in one 
so young." 

During an entire hour, Pelham stopped the 
enemy's advance; and he finally drew off only on 
receiving a peremptory order from Stuart to retire, 
as General Lee, who knew that the gun's resistance 
must, in the end, give way before the joint impact 
of Meade and Doubleday, preferred that these 
Divisions should now move on to the assault of the 
heights, where his forces were impatiently awaiting 
them. The favorable issue of the battle could be 
promoted but not brought about by one such act of 
extraordinary bravery. 



THE BOY ARTILLERIST 153 

Retreating to the hills, Pelham took command of 
all the artillery posted on the Confederate right 
wing, and had charge of it until night fell. As the 
Federals, discomfited, slowly withdrew, he steadily 
pushed forward his guns; and they were thundering 
away as long as there was light enough to take ac- 
curate aim. 

During the winter, the two armies remained in- 
active; but in March (1863), Averill crossed the 
Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford, not far from Fred- 
ericksburg, at the head of three thousand cavalry- 
men. It happened that Pelham had accompanied 
Stuart to a camp some distance away to attend a 
court martial, and while returning, heard the boom 
of cannon in the direction of the river; he immedi- 
ately galloped forward; and when he reached the 
scene of fighting, his own artillery not yet having 
come upon the ground, he observed a regiment 
which appeared to be severely shaken by the hot 
fire suddenly concentrated on its ranks. He gal- 
loped up to the men, and waving his hat, shouted 
out: 

"Form, Boys. Forward to victory and glory." 

He had hardly uttered these brave words when he 
fell headlong from his horse. A fragment of shell 
had struck him on the head, a blow which proved 
to be fatal at the end of a few hours. His body 
was taken to Richmond, and lay in state there in 



154 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

the capitol as if his part in the war had been as 
important as that of some commanding General. 

Never before or afterwards, during the course of 
the great conflict, did the death of so young an of- 
ficer call forth such a eulogistic proclamation as the 
one which Stuart issued to his men when told that 
Pelham had been killed. 

"To you, his comrades, it is needless to dwell 
upon what you have so often witnessed, — ^his prowess 
in action, already proverbial. You well know how, 
though young in years, a mere stripling in appear- 
ance, remarkable for his genuine modesty of de- 
portment, he yet disclosed on the battlefield the 
conduct of a veteran, and* displayed in his handsome 
person the most imperturbable coolness in danger. 
His eye had glanced over every battle field of this 
army, from First Manassas to the moment of his 
death, and he was, with a single exception, a bril- 
liant actor in them all. The memory of the gallant 
Pelham, his many virtues, his noble nature, and 
purity of character, is enshrined as a sacred legacy 
in the hearts of all who knew him. His record has 
been bright and spotless; his career brilliant and 
successful. He fell, — the noblest of sacrifices on 
the altar of his country, to whose glorious service 
he had dedicated his life from the beginning of the 
war." 



CHAPTER VIII 
Mosby and the Partisan Rangers 



CHAPTER VIII 
MOSBY AND THE PARTISAN RANGERS 

The most famous of all the partisan rangers of 
the South, during the Civil War, was Colonel Mosby, 
whose exploits in that character are more like the 
inventions of some stirring writer of romance than 
events of history that really took place. He entered 
upon the scenes of this part of his career, — he had 
been a simple scout before, — while still a young 
man, full of the adventurous spirit which is youth's 
sharpest spur to energetic and daring action. His 
person is thrown against the screen of those extra- 
ordinary times as boldly as if he stood in the very 
first rank of its greatest soldiers; one can see in the 
mind's eye, with all the distinctness of actual vi- 
sion, his slender, almost gaunt, figure, his beardless 
lip, his tanned cheek, and his piercing eye, before 
which the most reckless of his followers who had 
given offense was forced to quail. He wears a gray 
uniform, and the only weapons which he carries are 
the two pistols that are stuck in his belt. 

A quiet, reticent, and withal a stern man, he was 
unbending in compelling the fullest obedience to all 
his orders; and yet he never for a moment relaxed 
the vigilance of his eye for the safety and comfort 



158 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

of his soldiers; and on no occasion would he com- 
mand them to go where he was not willing to lead. 

Being an unerring judge of character, he refused 
to accept as a member of his band any one who did 
not win his confidence at once, a matter of vital 
importance in the peculiar kind of warfare in which 
he was engaged. In fact, he had an unalterable con- 
viction as to the sort of men that he needed; and 
he declined to allow the mere appeals of personal 
liking to influence him in his choice; sometimes, 
indeed, as we shall see, he admitted to his squad 
men who, in the beginning, were looked upon by- 
all its members, except himself, as disguised spies, 
but who, by their fidelity and loyalty, proved the 
correctness of his instinctive faith in their trust- 
worthiness. 

The fame of Colonel Mosby will always be asso- 
ciated with that part of Piedmont Virginia which 
lies between the upper waters of the Potomac and 
those of the Rappahannock, with the cloud-capped 
wall of the Blue Ridge as its western boundary. 
This region was as much a debatable land during 
the Civil War as the romantic borders of Scotland 
in the days of the Highlander forays and English 
raids, — a land which belonged to that army of either 
side which could hold it for a day, or a month, or 
a year. But Mosby and his partisan rangers con- 
sidered it to be their own; and not the less so when 



MOSBY AND THE RANGERS 159 

the Federal troops happened to be in seemingly- 
indisputable possession of its grass-covered hills and 
valleys, and its dense and dark woods. 

The counties of Loudon and Fairfax particularly 
were known as Mosby's Confederacy. This was, 
indeed, a region which was precisely suited in all its 
features to the operations of a partisan force; for, 
being beautifully pastoral, it overflowed with those 
supplies for man and beast which such a force were 
compelled to pick up as they stole or hurried from 
point to point; and it also contained thick bodies of 
forest to serve as a screen in excursions against the 
enemy or as a hiding place whenever discretion sug- 
gested a temporary retreat before superior numbers. 
Besides, it spread right up to the base of the Blue 
Ridge, in the fastnesses of which the entire com- 
pany could withdraw in safety when the season or 
hot pursuit dictated their complete dissolution and 
dispersion. 

The rangers were kept together only when Mosby 
was engaged in some one of his furtive expeditions. 
If there was no raid underway, either because the 
period of the year was unfavorable or the enemy 
were too cautious to offer a vulnerable side, his 
men were widely scattered among the homes of the 
small farmers who lived in the more or less remote 
and inaccessible foot hills of the Blue Ridge. Here 
they were able to obtain comforts which were not 



160 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

customary either with themselves or with the soldiers 
of the main armies when on the march or in camp 
or bivouac. The food set before them by their 
rural hosts was abundant and wholesome, although 
plain and without much variety; there was plenty 
of cornbread, bacon, poultry, game, and vegetables 
to appease their hunger from day to day; and they 
had clean shuck mattresses and substantial beds to 
sleep on at night; while for their horses, whose 
good condition was of as much concern to them as 
their own, the blue grass in the meadows and on 
the hillsides, and the grain and hay in the stables, 
afforded all the provender that they required to keep 
them sleek, fat, and hardy. 

Mosby had established his secret headquarters in 
the little town of Upperville not far off, and when, 
by the report of his scouts or by his own personal 
observations, — for he frequently ventured alone into 
the neighborhood of the enemy's encampments, — he 
saw an opportunity to deliver a sudden but furtive 
blow, he dispatched a moimted courier to the near- 
est locality in the foothills of the mountains where 
he knew that some of his band were awaiting his 
summons; in turn, one of this number was instructed 
to take horse and to carry the same summons to 
the next locality; and so on, until all the rangers 
had received the order to assemble at the rendez- 
vous, often forty or fifty miles away, which had 
been specially appointed by their leader. 



MOSBY AND THE RANGERS 161 

Whoever failed to obey this order without having 
a good excuse, was promptly and peremptorily com- 
manded to go back to the company in the regular 
army from which he had been detailed; but it was 
very rare, indeed, that a trooper turned a deaf ear 
to the call; in fact, a lazy life in the farmers' houses 
lost all its charms so soon as the prospect of taking 
part in some adventurous raid was held out to him 
by the courier's announcement. He was clearly 
aware that Mosby would not have sent for him had 
he not already matured some daring excursion which 
would afford his men, in carrying it out, plenty of 
glorious excitement. 

Twenty-four hours had hardly passed when the 
Partisan Chief would find himself surrounded at the 
rendezvous by twenty, thirty, and sometimes fifty 
soldiers, burning to follow him even to the death, 
without thinking it necessary first to request him to 
reveal his plans or his destination. Who were these 
troopers who gathered around Mosby as quickly and 
excitedly as a pack of buckhounds run together 
about their huntsman when he soxmds the first note 
on his familiar horn? 

The majority were young men of adventurous and 
even reckless spirit who had obtained permission to 
leave the ranks of Stuart's command in order to 
Join the Partisan Leader; a few were hardly more 
than boys, who had never served under any other 



162 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

officer or in any other troop; one or two were soldiers 
of fortune, attracted to him from oversea by his 
reputation for splendid daring, which had spread 
even to those distant parts. 

There was not one who did not ride with the skill 
of a Mexican herdsman, and who did not feel rather 
more at home in the saddle than on the ground. If 
there was no reason at the moment for silence and 
vigilance, they showed the gayety and buoyancy 
of their spirits as they rode along by trolling the 
songs which were popular with the cavalry. 

Ordinarily, Mosby's rangers wore no uniform, but 
they were always distinguishable as Confederate 
soldiers by some badge of grajmess about their 
clothes. After a successful raid, as was said at the 
time, they were the best equipped, best mounted, 
and best dressed men in their arm of the service; 
the dandies among them would then show them- 
selves in suits remarkable for gold braid, buff trim- 
mings, and gilt buttons; would wear high-topped 
boots and soft hats decorated with glossy ostrich 
plumes. These splendid garments and trappings 
were quickly discarded on the first news of the 
enemy's presence. 

There were few features of their daily life when 
actually in the field which recalled the routine of 
the regular soldiers, whether in camp or on the 
march, — for instance, they were never awakened at 



MOSBY AND THE RANGERS 163 

dawn by the reveille; they were not required at 
night to retire to sleep by the sounding of taps; 
there was rarely a roll call to show presence or 
absence; and there was never a drill. No supply of 
food, clothes, ammunition, or guns was ever given 
out to them; they picked up their rations in the 
countryside as they passed along; and the remainder 
they obtained by capture. They never slept under 
a tent; when they wanted rest at night, they 
stretched themselves on the ground wrapped in their 
blankets, while their horses either stood picketed 
close by or were allowed to graze in the nearest field 
until the eastern sky showed the approach of dawn. 

It was not simply a spirit of aimless daring that 
influenced Mosby even in his most reckless adven- 
tures. He had invariably certain definite purposes 
to carry through. The principal one always was to 
find out the movements of the enemy and to fathom 
their designs, with the view of reporting them for 
the guidance of Lee and Stuart. Subordinate to 
this, he sought to harass and worry the enemy's 
detachments; to cut the telegraph wires and break 
up the railroads within their lines; to capture dis- 
patches passing to and from the hostile headquarters; 
to destroy wagon trains loaded with army supplies; 
to seize pickets, scouts, and videttes; and to overrun 
isolated camps. 

He was always looking for and trying to strike at 
unprotected gaps on the hostile front or rear in 



164 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

order to force the enemy to use up a great many 
troops in guarding all points; and he was indefatig- 
able in his efforts to disrupt their communications 
by every means available to his hand. So suddenly 
did he appear in the open, so quickly did he vanish 
in the nearest forest, that he was often spoken of 
by the foe as the Flying Dutchman of the Woods, 
and his followers as Children of the Mist. 



CHAPTER IX 
Capture of General Stoughton 



CHAPTER IX 
CAPTURE OF GENERAL STOUGHTON 

Perhaps the most brilliant of all Mosby's ex- 
ploits as a partisan ranger was his capture of Gen- 
eral Stoughton in March, 1863. At this time, he 
had mider his command a small band of carefully 
picked troopers. The Fifth New York Cavalry 
Regiment and other Federal forces were now en- 
camped near Fairfax Court-House, and it was im- 
portant that their movements should be followed 
and their designs, if possible, penetrated. Mosby 
was debating in his own mind as to the most prac- 
ticable means of obtaining the information desired, 
when a deserter from the enemy appeared in the 
circle of his bivouac and expressed an earnest wish 
to join his company. At first, this man, whose 
name was Ames, was looked upon by the rangers 
with strong suspicion as a possible spy, and his 
presence was barely tolerated; but Mosby, after 
carefully weighing all his assertions about himself, 
and for some time observing his bearing, decided to 
permit him to remain, a conclusion which he never 
had reason to regret, for Ames became one of the 
most daring and trustworthy of his squad; was pro- 
moted to a lieutenancy; and finally perished in a 



16 8 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

h£:nd-to-hand combat with one of the enemy's caval- 
rjnnen. 

When Ames entered the rangers' camp, it hap- 
pened that there was one among them who was 
anxious to procure a horse before the expedition 
which he knew was on foot should set out. 

How was he to supply his want in time? If he 
failed to secure a horse, he would be left behind, 
and would thus miss all the certain excitement, and 
his share in the possible profits, of the projected 
adventure. Ames too was without a horse, and 
when told by the ranger of his own necessity, he 
thought that he saw an opportunity to obtain steeds 
for both, and, in doing so, to win at one stroke the 
unreserved confidence of his new comrades. 

"If you will go with me," he said, "I will take 
you to the camp where I was stationed, and there 
I feel sure we can each lay hands on a horse." 

It seemed to be full of risk to rely so far on a 
deserter's word as to accompany him to the very 
spot from which he had fled. What if he should 
after all turn out to be a spy? But the trooper was 
so eager to obtain a horse, that, after a moment's 
hesitation, he agreed to adopt Ames's suggestion. 
Leaving the rangers' bivouac, they made their way 
through the woods to the enemy's nearest encamp- 
ment, which they reached at midnight, when only 
the sentinels were awake. These sentinels knew 



GENERAL STOUGHTON 169 

Ames personally, and he was confident that, if they 
were unaware of his desertion, which he thought 
probable, they would permit him and his companion 
to enter the bounds after a curt challenge. And in 
this anticipation, he proved to be right; the first 
sentinel they came upon, on being told his name, 
offered no objection; and the two men immediately 
found themselves within the limits of the enemy's 
post. Ames and his comrade went straight to the 
spot where the horses were tethered, and after look- 
ing them over as carefully as the darkness allowed, 
each mounted the particular animal which he pre- 
ferred and rode away. The sentinel took them to 
be merely pickets going to relieve others who had 
been watching during the first part of the night. 

Mosby had made up his mind to penetrate as far 
within the Federal lines as Fairfax Court-House; 
and this successful adventure of the two men con- 
firmed him in his purpose. It proved that Ames 
could be fully trusted; and with the advantage of 
Ames's minute knowledge of the Federal camps, he 
felt more confident that the projected dash could 
be triumphantly carried out. The objective which 
he had in view was not disclosed to any of his men; 
they were only aware that some excursion more 
daring even than usual was in contemplation, and 
they were entirely content to repress their curiosity. 
Mosby really designed, not only to pass straight 
through the Federal lines, but also to bring off Gen- 



170 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

eral Stoughton, who was stationed at Fairfax Court- 
House. This would be a blow that would resound 
like a thunderclap, and would give him such a repu- 
tation at a single stroke that his success in his 
future enterprises would certainly be promoted by 
it. Not only did he have among his followers the 
deserter Ames, who was thoroughly informed as to 
all the camps of the enemy, but also two brothers, 
Underwood by name, who were said to know every 
natural feature of all that region as well as did the 
animals that prowled by day or night about its 
fields and woods. Having explored every swamp 
and every forest situated in Fairfax county, they 
would be able to guide the rangers by paths which 
the Federal troops were ignorant of, although not 
far away from the localities where they were sta- 
tioned. 

It would be hard to imagine a more difficult or a 
more adventurous enterprise than Mosby was now 
about to start upon. Fairfax Court-House, his des- 
tination, not only itself was occupied by Federal 
soldiers, but in its immediate vicinity two infantry 
regiments were encamped. Three regiments of cav- 
alry, under Colonel Wyndham, an English officer, 
were stationed within three miles of the town; and 
at Centreville, not far off, there was posted an 
infantry brigade; while at Fairfax station, two 
miles to the south, a second brigade of infantry was 



GENERAL STOUGHTON 171 

to be found. Thus there stood between Mosby and 
his prey a most formidable mass of cavalry, in- 
fantry, and artillery. 

There were three highways leading to Fairfax 
Court-House from the west and south, from which 
directions alone would Mosby be able to approach. 
If he went all the way by the Little River turnpike, 
he would be certain to run up against Colonel 
Wyndham's cavalry; should he choose the Warren- 
ton turnpike, he would eventually find himself face 
to face with a mixed force of cavalry, infantry, and 
artillery. On the other hand, if he advanced by the 
railway, he would be halted by the brigade at Fair- 
fax station before he could debouch into the road 
running to the Court-House. 

He finally decided to seek a door through the 
cordon by stealing down the body of woods that 
lay in the triangle between the Little River and 
Warrenton turnpikes, with its apex pointing to the 
Court-House. There were twenty-nine men in the 
band that followed him when he set out for his 
dangerous objective. All were mounted on strong 
and well trained horses. When they started down 
the Little River turnpike, which they had to travel 
along at first, night had fallen and the darkness 
seemed to wrap every object in pitchy blackness. 
On arriving at a point about three miles from the 
hamlet of Chantilly, they turned off the highway 



172 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

and entered the thick wood that tapered towards 
the Court-House. The darkness grew more dense 
than ever in the recesses of the forest; and in a short 
time, the two squads, into which the men had been 
divided, became separated. The second squad began 
to stumble aimlessly about among the trees, per- 
plexed as to which was the right direction to take, 
while the first went forward without any suspicion 
that their comrades had lost the track. Some of 
the men of the second squad, having no guides and 
becoming discouraged, proposed that they should 
endeavor to find their way back to the camp which 
they had so recently left; some suggested that they 
should remain where they were until Mosby, missing 
them, should send the two Underwood scouts to 
bring them up. On the other hand, the majority 
urged that they should go straight on in the hope 
of recovering the trail of the first squad. This ad- 
vice in the end prevailed. Reaching an opening in 
the forest, they saw a light shining through an open 
window, and on riding up to inquire as to their where- 
abouts, they, to their relief, discovered Mosby and 
the other members of the advance squad seated within. 
The rangers had now reached the outer line of the 
Federal pickets, and it was only by observing the 
utmost caution, aided by the pall of darkness, that 
they succeeded in creeping through the cordon with- 
out having been detected. Fairfax Court-House 



GENERAL STOUGHTON 173 

was situated about four miles away. They now 
turned towards the turnpike that passed from the 
Court-House through Centreville westward; entering 
it, they cut the wires, and, at a rapid trot, advanced 
down the highway until they began to draw near 
to the camp where a large body of Federal troops 
were posted. Here they were within one and a 
half miles of the Court-House. Leaving the enemy's 
station on their left, the rangers boldly struck into 
the thick woods again. 

It was Mosby's aim now to reach the road run- 
ning from the Court-House to Fairfax station, 
which he knew to be unprotected, except at the 
station itself, by any force stronger than pickets, 
who might be easily captured if they should attempt 
to block his path. Debouching into this road after 
their passage of the woods, the rangers turned their 
horses' heads straight towards the village, which 
they entered at two o'clock in the morning. A pro- 
found silence hung over the place. Not a dog bayed 
at them as they rode up; not a cock was heard to 
crow; citizens, dogs, and chickens alike seemed to 
be buried in the deepest slumber. 

The cavalcade drew rein in the Court-House 
square. No word was spoken above a whisper. 
Mosby ordered Ames, the Federal deserter, and one 
ranger besides to dismount and remain there, while 
the rest of the company, headed by himself, went 



174 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

to the home of a citizen who was personally known 
to him as an ardent supporter of the Southern cause. 
During the short interval of waiting, a sentinel came 
up to Ames and his companion. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked abruptly. 

"I belong to the Fifth New York Cavalry Regi- 
ment," replied Ames, coolly, "and I am waiting here 
by order of Major White, whom I am expecting 
any moment." 

The answer quieted the suspicions of the sentinel, 
and he was about to pass on, when Ames, as if to 
whisper in his ear, leaned forward in the darkness 
and suddenly grasped his gun. 

"If you utter a sound," he exclaimed in a low 
voice, "you are a dead man." 

The sentinel was so astonished that he was quickly 
disarmed and taken prisoner. 

Hardly had this incident concluded, when Mosby 
returned with his men to the square. He divided 
them at once into three squads; one was dispatched 
to the stables to bring off the finest horses of the 
officers; another to the headquarters of Colonel 
Wyndham to capture him; while Colonel Mosby, 
accompanied by two rangers, walked over to the 
house occupied by General Stoughton. 

To Ames was assigned the duty of seizing Colonel 
WjTidham, but he was found to have left the vil- 
lage on a visit to Washington. While Ames him- 



GENERAL STOUGHTON 175 

self was searching that officer's bedchamber, his 
comrades were exploring another, where they pulled 
out of his hiding place a Federal, who earnestly- 
represented himself to be a common sutler, and 
therefore, too imimportant to be carried off a 
prisoner; but Ames, on entering the room, recognized 
him as Captain Barker, who was in command of 
the company to which he had belonged before his 
desertion. Barker at once gave himself up without 
offering further protest. 

The squad that was sent to the stable led to the 
square, within a few minutes, a string of fine horses, 
fully saddled and bridled. 

But Mosby's own experience was the most dram- 
atic of the night. On reaching General Stoughton's 
headquarters, he found that his bedroom was situ- 
ated up-stairs. The doors to both floors were un- 
locked; and so complete was the General's sense of 
security that no sentinel was posted either within 
or without the house. Quietly entering his chamber, 
Mosby found him fast asleep in bed. Going up to 
its side, he slapped the slumbering officer's shoulder 
so heavily that he awoke; but at first he was in a 
state of dumb, bewildered surprise at the sight that 
was presented to his eyes. He slowly raised himself 
on his elbow and scowled at the intruder. 

"What is the meaning of this visit at such an 
hour?" he at last growled out. 



176 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"Get up, I want you," was the short reply. 

General Stoughton looked at Mosby with a blacker 
scowl on his face. 

"Do you know who I am," he gruffly demanded, 
*'I will have you arrested." 

"Do you know who I am?" retorted Mosby coolly. 

"Who are you?" 

"Did you ever hear of Mosby?" 

"Yes, have you got him?" 

"No, but he has got you." 

"What does all this mean. Sir?" cried Stoughton 
indignantly. 

"Mean," said Mosby, quietly, "why it means 
that Stuart's cavalry are in possession of the town, 
and you are a prisoner. Get up and accompany 
me. 

General Stoughton's body-guard, consisting of two 
soldiers, occupied a tent at the back of the house, 
and like their master, they were taken fast asleep, 
for they also thought that there was no necessity 
for watchfulness. 

Stoughton having been required to dress quickly 
and descend, Mosby and his two men, with their 
captives, returned to the square, where the other 
squads had already arrived with fifty-eight of the 
officers' saddle horses and thirty-two prisoners. 
They had been busy in the village for one hour and 
a half, and it would not be long before the first 



GENERAL STOUGHTON 177 

signs of dawn would appear in the sky. The cap- 
tives having been quickly mounted, the whole caval- 
cade was on the point of leaving the place behind 
when the sound of a window sash being thrown up 
was heard. 

"What cavalry is that?" a voice called out. 

A smothered laugh was the only reply. 

"Dismount, Nelson and Hatcher," Mosby ordered 
in low tones, "and search that house." 

The two men, on entering the principal room in 
the building, foimd it occupied by an officer's wife 
in bed; on a chair nearby was a Colonel's uniform; 
on the table, his hat; and hanging on the wall, his 
gold watch. The officer himself, suspecting that 
there was something wrong, had escaped in his night 
clothes into the garden, and thence into the dark 
fields beyond. Time was too valuable to justify his 
further pursuit, for, should Mosby not succeed in 
passing the picket line before daylight, the alarm 
would be given and his whole band intercepted. 

Taking the open road to Fairfax station, pre- 
viously used by them, the rangers branched off into 
the woods so soon as they reached the spot where 
they had entered the highway a few hours before, 
and rode straight towards Centreville. Not far 
from that place, they had to make a detour to 
avoid the brigade of cavalry posted there; and in 
doing this, they passed so close to a strong Federal 



178 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

fortification that a sentinel challenged them; but 
they hurried on without replying. Captain Barker 
took advantage of the proximity of Federal soldiers 
to endeavor to escape. The ball fired at him as he 
started to gallop away in their direction just grazed 
his head, and he was quickly recaptured. 

Having got by the fortifications in safety, Mosby 
and his men soon arrived on the banks of Cub Run, 
which they found very much swollen from the melt- 
ing snows in the foothills of the mountains. With- 
out the slightest hesitation, they plunged into the 
racing stream. Mosby himself led the way and 
General Stoughton followed close behind him. When 
the latter reached land again, he said jocularly to 
his captor: 

"This is the first bad treatment I have received 
from you, Colonel." 

Many of the men were carried down the stream, 
but, in the end, succeeded in scrambling up the 
bank and joining their comrades. 

When they drew near to Groveton, Mosby, ac- 
companied by one of his men, galloped to the top 
of a hill commanding a view of the region rolling 
away towards Centreville, which he had just trav- 
ersed with the prisoners and his own band. Not a 
horseman, not an infantryman, not a battery, was 
in sight; the pursuit had evidently been considered 
useless and had not been undertaken. 



GENERAL STOUGHTON 179 

Mosby delivered his captives to the Confederate 
authorities at Culpeper Court-House, where General 
Fitzhugh Lee was in command. Lee had been a 
classmate of Stoughton at the West Point Military- 
Academy, and received the distinguished prisoner 
with every mark of consideration. 

The raid upon the village did not become gen- 
erally known to the Federals at Fairfax Court-House 
until the next morning, and as it seemed impossible 
for even Mosby to have carried it out so success- 
fully without local connivance, eight of the leading 
citizens of the place were arrested and thrown into 
the Old Capitol Prison at Washington. As for 
Mosby himself, the astonishing daring which he 
had shown and its triumphant issue, established his 
reputation as the most brilliant partisan leader in 
the Eastern theatre of the war; and this reputation 
his subsequent exploits served to confirm. 



CHAPTER X 
The Wagon Train and Greenback Raids 



CHAPTER X 
THE WAGON TRAIN AND GREENBACK RAIDS 

The final summer of the war had arrived, and 
the Valley of Virginia was once more to become the 
field on which Federal and Confederate armies were 
to clash for mastery; that region had been the scene 
of some of the first battles of the great conflict, and 
it was now to be the scene of some of the last. 
Here the only remaining hope of establishing South- 
ern independence was to vanish, for, when General 
Early's surviving soldiers, travel-stained and war- 
worn, were dispersed, there was left no reasonable 
ground for thinking that General Lee, in the trenches 
of Petersburg, could continue to hold his lines in the 
teeth of the increase in the numbers of his Federal 
adversaries which must quickly follow. 

In August, 1864, General Sheridan, who was to 
strike so many vigorous blows at the Confederates 
operating between the Alleghanies and the Blue 
Ridge, took command at Harper's Ferry of all the 
Federal troops posted in that region. There was at 
least one eagle eye that was turned to watch his 
movements intently from the moment when he 
began to show the first sign of activity. This was 
Mosby's. At daybreak one morning in August, he 



184 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

set out from a rendezvous east of the mountains 
for the Shenandoah Valley, at the head of three 
himdred rangers, who had been hardened in body 
and spirit by the adventurous life led by them dur- 
ing the seventeen months that had passed since their 
chief had broken into the village of Fairfax Court- 
House at night and carried off General Stoughton 
and his comrades. After a long and fatiguing march 
through the foothills and defiles of the Blue Ridge, 
the band halted, just as darkness came on, at a 
spot situated not far from the little town of Berry- 
ville, and almost within arm's reach of Harper's 
Ferry itself. 

The men brought no encumbering tents with them, 
and they made no effort to seek the shelter of 
houses; they simply unsaddled their bespattered 
and hungry horses and turned them out to crop 
the grass, while they stretched themselves on the 
turf to snatch a few hours' sleep before .again taking 
up the search for the enemy. 

So soon as they lay down to rest and recuperate, 
scouts were dispatched into the surrounding region 
to find out whether there were any Federal detach- 
ments abroad there, either quietly encamped, scour- 
ing the country for prisoners, or spying out for in- 
formation. They returned almost at once and re- 
ported that the very largest wagon train of the 
enemy which they had ever seen in the course of 



THE WAGON TRAIN 185 

the whole war, was moving, like a great procession, 
along the Valley turnpike, situated behind a ridge 
of low hills rising a short distance away. 

Mosby, on being told of this welcome fact, picked 
out half a dozen members of his band to accom- 
pany him in his first reconnoissance; the others he 
ordered to remain where they were until he should 
send them word to join him at the scene of the 
proposed attack. Even in this exciting moment, 
he was anxious that they should not be disturbed 
in their repose until the need of their assistance 
became immediate. 

As he and his companions cautiously advanced 
under the cover of darkness, they could distinctly 
hear the rumble of hundreds of wheels, the sharp 
cracking of numerous whips, and the curses and the 
songs of the drivers. The bed of the turnpike being 
of macadamized stone, and the air being still, the 
roll of so many wagons passing over so hard a sur- 
face was borne far and wide through the sleeping 
country. The sound fell very pleasantly on the ears 
of the listening Confederate troopers, for they were 
able to gauge by its volume how immense would be 
the damage which they would soon be able to in- 
flict on the enemy. 

All the rangers, including Mosby, were dressed in 
the civilian clothes of common Virginian farmers. 
When they walked right up to the turnpike and got 



186 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

their first view of the strung-out wagon train, ad- 
vancing like an enormous snake along the track of 
the winding highway, — a sight which delighted their 
hostile eyes, — they made no attempt whatever to 
conceal themselves beyond first breaking up their 
group and taking position beside the roadway in 
couples at points considerably apart; in fact, they 
appeared, as they looked on, to be simply so many 
rustics who had been drawn by curiosity from their 
homes nearby to watch so extraordinary a spectacle 
close at hand. 

But they were not satisfied to stand long by the 
roadside and gaze with open mouths in pretended 
unsophisticated astonishment, — they boldly joined 
the large band of camp followers and conversed with 
them, and also with the nearest drivers, without ex- 
citing the slightest suspicion either by their dress, 
words, or bearing. Indeed, it was doubtful whether, 
after they actually mingled with that motley as- 
semblage, they were taken to be even strangers, for 
whatever in their aspect might otherwise have made 
them different from the rest of the crowd was more 
or less hidden by the shadow of night. Some of 
the troopers, however, did not hesitate to ask for 
matches and to light their pipes in the very faces of 
drivers and hangers-on alike. Through the latter, 
by apparently casual questions, they found that, in 
addition to the wagons and their loads, there were 



THE WAGON TRAIN 187 

at least nine hundred head of horses, mules, and 
cattle in the train; and that they were guarded by 
two thousand men under the command of General 
Kenly. Not content with this information, the 
rangers wormed in and out and made a furtive, 
superficial inspection of the contents of the wagons; 
and examined in the same sly way the quality of 
the herd and drove of live-stock. 

At last, satisfied with the facts which they had 
learned, either by word of mouth or by the use of 
their own eyes, the rangers, under orders passed by 
Mosby to each of his companions, fell out of the 
line of the wagon train and took a position hidden 
from observation not far from the roadside. 

The first flush of morning had not yet appeared. 
One of the troopers was hurried off to awaken the 
remainder of the band, who, as has been seen, had 
been left behind to rest. In addition to the three 
hundred men who composed the entire company, 
there were two pieces of horse artillery; but in the 
effort to force these guns through a dense interven- 
ing wood, one of them became completely disabled. 
The other, while the hour was still dark, was brought 
up to the top of a hill which overlooked the turn- 
pike and the procession of wagons. 

All the rangers had now been concentrated and 
were eager and ready for the attack. No hesitation 
to undertake it was felt, although there were at 



188 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

least two thousand Federal soldiers to be faced and 
defeated if the work of destruction and capture was 
to be thorough. As they stood at attention in the 
faint light of dawn, the first sign, apart from the 
rumble of wheels, which they had of the wagon 
train was the vast cloud of dust floating up from 
the highway, over which many hundreds of animals 
were slowly tramping. With the increasing light, 
they could see the plain below them more and more 
clearly, until they gradually distinguished, one after 
another, the canvas-topped army wagons, with 
their teams and drivers. 

At the word from Mosby, the cannoneers of the 
sound gun fired off a twelve pound shot, but the 
range was too high, and the ball passed over the 
train. 

A second shell quickly followed. This was more 
successful and struck one of the wagons. The sound 
of the first shell and the explosion of the second in 
their midst, being entirely unexpected, and the roar 
reverberating loudly among the hills at that quiet 
hour, created at once a scene of the wildest alarm 
and confusion; and before the commotion could sub- 
side, a third shot was discharged in the midst of the 
wagons. 

Instead of haltmg to find out whether resistance 
was practicable, the guards endeavored to hasten 
the retreat of the whole train as giving more promise 




u 



Q 



THE WAGON TRAIN 189 

of escape. The frenzied drivers cracked their whips 
and shouted at their mules; the drovers frantically 
belabored the horses and cattle in order to urge 
them forward at the top of their speed; while the 
crowd of hangers-on took to their heels, in a wild 
effort to reach the head of the train. 

Encouraged by the spectacle of this helpless 
tumult, and fearing lest their prey might get away 
after all, the whole body of rangers, three hundred 
strong, galloped down from their position on the 
neighboring ridge, and yelling and firing off their 
revolvers as they advanced, were quickly up to the 
very line of the turnpike. As they drew near, the 
confusion there only increased. The drivers, in their 
deadly anxiety to escape from the shots of the 
troopers, now coming right on them, attempted to 
pass each other, and, in doing so, ran their wagons 
together, knocking off bodies and wheels alike; the 
infantrymen, lost in the terrifying jam, could make 
no stand; while the cavalrymen were engaged in 
riding wildly backwards and forwards in their at- 
tempt to restore order in the disorganized train. 
But this was impossible at first in the midst of all 
that deafening noise caused by the braying of mules, 
the lowing of cattle, the neighing of horses, the 
shouting of drivers, the cries of the camp followers, 
the crack of rifles and revolvers, and the triumphant 
yells of the rangers. 



190 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Just when the stampede seemed about to end in 
the complete self-destruction of the wagon train, 
and the dispersion of the drove of horses and mules 
and the herd of cattle, the Federal officers were able 
to bring to bear some organized resistance with the 
soldiers whom they had succeeded in concentrating. 
Squads of these posted themselves behind the stone 
fences and bravely fought until compelled to retire 
by a determined charge. This intermittent fighting 
went on along the turnpike for at least a mile and 
a half and aided many of the wagons to escape. 

Ceasing the pursuit, the rangers went back to find 
out what proportion of the train had fallen into 
their hands. Knowing that they had only a short 
time to complete the work of destruction before the 
enemy would return in force, they started in at once 
to unhitch all the teams left behind and to rifle 
the loads; and when this was finished, they set fire 
to the wagons and their contents whenever of a kind 
that was too heavy to be taken away. A safe in 
which one hundred thousand dollars in greenbacks 
had been placed was overlooked and thus escaped 
seizure. 

It was now eight o'clock in the morning, and the 
rangers were ready to leave the ground. Mosby had 
decided to return at once to the country east of the 
Blue Ridge, from which he had come the previous 
day; but how was he, with the small force under 



THE WAGON TRAIN 191 

his command, to carry off three hundred prisoners, 
nine hundred head of live stock, and a large quan- 
tity of portable booty of all sorts? There were at 
least twenty-five miles to be traversed before he 
could reach headquarters in Fauquier county; and 
the chain of the Blue Ridge had to be passed before 
the journey was over. Moreover, not only the 
sound piece of artillery, which had done such execu- 
tion, was to be taken back, but also the piece which 
had been disabled before the fight began. 

"Wliat are you going to do with that broken 
gun?" Mosby asked of the cannoneers. 

"We are going to take it back home on the 
other gun," was the reply. 

The mules, horses, and cattle were run together 
in a single drove; the captives were collected in one 
body; the rangers took the positions assigned them; 
the order to march was given, and the strange pro- 
cession started upon the journey that was to end 
beyond the mountains. Among the articles which 
had been dragged out of the wagons before they 
were burnt were numerous Federal uniforms. The 
insides of these were turned outside in order to ex- 
pose the red, white, and black of the linings, and 
in that reversed parti-colored shape, were worn by 
many of the men for the purpose of exciting the 
derisive amusement of their companions. 

A large number of musical instruments of differ- 
ent kinds had also been captured, and the whole 



192 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

air was alive with the strains in all keys, — some per- 
fectly harmonious, others exactly the opposite, — 
which were produced by the soldiers in playing on 
them. The horses and mules, running loose, were 
adding to the noise by their neighing, braying, and 
kicking; and the several hundred head of cattle 
further increased the pandemonium by their wild 
bellowing, and by rolling in the dust of the highway 
imder the very feet of the rangers. 

When the entire body of men and animals reached 
the banks of the Shenandoah, they plunged in pell- 
mell, and while many of them were swept down 
stream by the current, all in the end got safely to 
the eastern side and resumed the journey. By four 
o'clock in the afternoon, they had passed the mount- 
ains and were descending the eastern slope. 

As soon as the rangers halted for the night, they 
counted the livestock, which they had now suc- 
ceeded in driving to a place beyond all danger of 
capture; they found that they had in their posses- 
sion six himdred horses and mules, and two himdred 
and fifty cows and bullocks. About fifty head of 
all kinds had strayed and been lost on the road. 
The horses and mules were soon divided among the 
troopers; the cattle were corralled to be sent off 
next day to General Lee's army; and a squad was 
appointed to take the prisoners far within the Con- 
federate lines. About one hundred wagons had been 



THE WAGON TRAIN 193 

destroyed by fire before the rangers left the turn- 
pike, and a great quantity of stores of all sorts con- 
sumed. The entire loss of Mosby's command 
amounted to only two men killed and two wounded. 
Emboldened by the success of this sensational 
raid, Mosby, in October of the same year, deter- 
mined to repeat it. He struck the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroad, the chief artery of supply for the 
Federal army in the Valley, at a point not far from 
Harper's Ferry. He had learned through his scouts 
on the day this occurred that a train was expected 
at a certain hour over the railway which would be 
conveying several hundred thousand dollars to be 
used in paying off the Federal soldiers posted hi 
that region. It would be easy enough to throw 
the cars off the track simply by ripping up the rails 
at a curve which would shut the engineer off from 
along view of the roadbed ahead of him; but Mosby 
was anxious to prevent a complete smash-up, as 
this would endanger the lives of the numerous 
civilians who were certain to be on board. How 
was such an extreme catastrophe to be avoided? 
By taking the rails up at a spot where there was no 
embankment, and where the cars would be thrown 
against the side of a cut. Was it possible to find 
a curve in a deep cut, for this only would afford 
the precise condition that he considered necessary 
for the accomplishment of his piupose? 



194 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

After exploring the line for some distance, he 
came upon a piece of track that fulfilled all his re- 
quirements. The horses were hidden away behind 
the leaves of the nearest brushwood, while the men 
lay down just far enough beyond the edge of the 
cut to conceal their bodies, and yet close enough to 
keep them in earshot of the faintest echo that would 
indicate the approach of the treasure train. 

The night was so cold that they found it difficult 
to get rid of the chill, for no fires were permitted 
to be lighted, and Mosby would not tolerate the 
use of stimulants; indeed, he never allowed his fol- 
lowers to drink either on the march or in bivouac, 
although the scene of their operations, not only now, 
but from the beginning, had lain in a country where 
illicit distilling was one of the principal occupations 
of the mountaineers, and where liquor was always 
to be obtained at an excessively low price. 

The troopers, huddled together high above the 
cut, were too much engaged in listening for the 
sound of the expected train to feel drowsy or fa- 
tigued, or to trouble long about the coldness of the 
air. At midnight, the clatter of the cars, still sev- 
eral miles away, was faintly distinguishable, and 
every minute caused the sound to increase in vol- 
ume, until at last it seemed to be only a few hundred 
yards away. The whole night soon vibrated to the 
roar of the wheels and the puffing of the engine. 



THE WAGON TRAIN 195 

The rangers, knowing the fate that would almost 
immediately overtake the train, held their breath in 
suspense; and their sense of excitement was not 
diminished by the thought that the treasure on 
board was certain to be guarded by many Federal 
soldiers, who would not allow it to be carried off 
without a fight. They leaned towards the edge of 
the cut as far as they dared to do in their fear of 
becoming visible in the light of the engine rounding 
the curve. Suddenly, the head lamp flashed full in 
their eyes; the train rushed around the corner; and 
in a moment, the engine, reaching the part of the 
roadbed from which the rails had been torn away, 
ploughed up the ground for many yards, and finally, 
amidst the roar of escaping steam, the grinding of 
the numerous coaches, and the outcries of the pas- 
sengers, rolled helplessly into the ditch, a great mass 
of hot broken iron buried deep in the hissing mud. 

The rangers hardly waited for the catastrophe to 
be completed before they leaped, revolvers in hand, 
down the steep slope of the cut, and rushed to the 
side of the derailed cars. The conductor, who 
seemed to have understood at once the cause of the 
disaster, appeared at the door of a coach which had 
not left the track, with a lighted lantern in his 
hand, and as he waved it backward and forward, 
he cried out: 

"All right. Gentlemen, the train is yours." 



196 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Several of the rangers quickly mounted the steps 
of the first cai*, and on pushing through the door 
found it partly occupied by immigrants from Europe, 
who were unable to speak the English language; 
but there were other passengers who could, and 
some of these showed at once a disposition to resist 
the troopers. One man near the end of the coach 
raised his carbine to shoot at them, but before he 
could fire, he was struck by the bullets from their 
revolvers; and this decisive action immediately 
cowed the rest of the company. 

The rangers soon noticed that two oflacers were 
very solicitious for the security of a large bag and 
box which they had in their possession; this excited 
their suspicion; and when these receptacles were 
examined, it was found that they were crammed to 
the brim with newly printed greenbacks. Bag and 
box were turned over promptly to Mosby as con- 
taining the treasure which he had been expecting, 
and he at once instructed two of his most trusted 
men to take possession of them, and having mounted 
their horses, to carry the money off to a spot in the 
Blue Ridge where it would be kept in safety until 
the whole band should return from the raid. 

The train was composed of ten cars altogether, 
and in addition to the immigrants and the officers, 
was conveying a large number of civilians and 
soldiers. The coaches, as soon as they had been 



TTTR WACON TRAIN 197 

thoroughly explored, were set on fire. All the 
soldiers, who had made no resistance, were placed 
under guard with a view to their being marched 
away to the east of the mountains. Among them 
was an Austrian who had received a commission in 
the Federal Army. His ring had been taken as a 
part of the booty by one of the troopers, and its 
loss had thrown him in a state of great agitation. 
In broken English, he earnestly begged to be brought 
before Mosby, and when his request was complied 
with, he told the Partisan Leader in excited tones, 
which still further confused his speech, that the ring 
was an heirloom and could not be replaced; and he 
pleaded that it might be at once returned. 

Mosby coldly scrutinized the Austrian's new Fed- 
eral uniform before he replied. He then burst out: 

"What the devil did you want to come over here 
to fight us for?" 

"I came to learn de tactics." 

Mosby's stern face relaxed. 

"The loss of the ring is a part of the learning, 
perhaps," he said, with a repressed twinkle of his 
eye. 

But he ordered that the ring should be returned, 
and at the same time he warned the foreigner that 
he must, in the future, rely upon himself for the 
retention of his own property. He was presented 
with a considerable amount of Confederate money. 



198 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

which he was told would be of more use to him in 
Libby Prison than Federal greenbacks. 

The captives, having been brought together in 
one body, were marched rapidly away under the 
escort of the rangers, and, without casualty, were 
delivered the next day to the Confederate authori- 
ties. The men who had been entrusted with the 
custody of the greenbacks reached the appointed 
place in safety; and when the bag and box were 
afterwards opened in the presence of Mosby and the 
whole band, they were found to contain one hundred 
and seventy thousand dollars. In the division of 
this sum, which immediately followed, each ranger 
received twenty-one hundred dollars as his share. 
It was Mosby's rule to retain no part of the booty 
of a raid as his portion, and he did not break that 
rule in this instance. He always paid for his horses 
and their equipment with his private means, a fact 
that strengthened his influence with his men by 
proving his willingness to sacrifice his own interests 
to enhance their profits from each expedition. 

The exploit of capturing the train and the money 
bag and box of the two Federal paymasters created 
a panic among the other paymasters in the Federal 
service who happened to be stationed in that part 
of the theatre of war. 

"I have my funds in the parlor of the United 
States Hotel," telegraphed Paymaster Ladd to head- 



THE WAGON TRAIN 199 

quarters at Washington. "They are now guarded 
by a regiment. I shall make no move until I can 
do so safely; and in the meantime, I await your 
orders." 

There was a large body of troops posted at 
Wheeling at the time of Mosby's raid on the rail- 
way. They were concentrated there previous to 
their removal to Washington, but instead of their 
being transported by the straight line directly 
through Harper's Ferry, as had been intended, they 
were conveyed to the Capital by a very circuitous 
route to avoid the possibility of a catastrophe to 
their train by a dash of the rangers. 

The Federal military authorities made at once an 
almost frantic effort to capture the bold raiders and 
their leader; troops were dispatched, in feverish 
haste, to every point of the compass in that region 
of country; and there were many conflicting and 
confusing movements on their part, but all in vain. 
As one of the rangers himself has recorded, while 
all this commotion was at its height, a memorable 
scene was occurring in a little village in Loudon 
county: "There, undisturbed by any fear of inter- 
ruption, great sums in crisp greenbacks were handed 
around equally and liberally among eighty of Mos- 
by's grateful and admiring followers. The incident 
was closed." 



CHAPTER XI 
Private Munson's Escape from Prison 



CHAPTER XI 
PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE FROM PRISON 
On one occasion, Mosby was informed that a de- 
tachment of Federal cavalry was engaged in a short 
raid from a camp which they had established in 
sight of the Blue Ridge, and not far from the prin- 
cipal haunts of the Partisan Leader and his rangers. 
He at once sent off Captain Franklin with a picked 
body of men, including private Munson, who was a 
mere boy in years, to check their advance. They 
soon came upon the Federal troopers occupying a 
naturally strong position, and drawn up in bristling 
array to receive their onset. Franklin thought that, 
if he should attack them simultaneously in front 
and in rear, they could be quickly compelled to 
retire from the spot as untenable; but before the 
flanking party could make the necessary detour, the 
frontal assault had been beaten off; and when the 
assault on the wings took place, it was met by the 
concentrated fire of the entire Federal force. 

The Confederates had marched forward in ranks 
of fours in delivering the flanking attack; and in the 
very first rank was private Munson. Before he was 
aware of it, he was left alone by the retreat of his 
comrades after their recoil before the sudden storm 



204 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

of bullets. His first impulse was to rush headlong 
against the hne of Federal troopers opposite him, 
in the hope of breaking through by the impact, and 
escaping to the fields beyond; but even his eye, that 
rarely shrank from the prospect of the rashest enter- 
prises, perceived at a glance that he must inevit- 
ably be shot down as he careered toward the enemy 
in the very muzzles of hundreds of pistols and car- 
bines. 

He quickly turned the head of his horse and gal- 
loped off in the opposite direction, followed by a 
fusillade of bullets. Unfortunately for him, a stone 
wall stood in his way. He rode at it not doubting 
that the mare would take it without the smallest 
hesitation; but on coming up to it, she suddenly 
balked, and neither whip nor spur, vehemently 
applied, could make her rise to the necessary leap. 

Munson jumped down from the saddle, scrambled 
over the wall, and fled at the top of his speed 
across the open fields to a large body of woods 
which he saw in the distance. In the meanwhile, 
the enemy were hot upon his tracks, and having 
discovered a gap in the wall, which enabled them to 
pass through without delay, soon came up with 
him and forced him to surrender. He was immedi- 
ately stripped of his hat, plumes and gloves, pistols 
and belt, watch, and even his boots. 

"The Yankees trimmed me well," he laughingly 
asserted in after times. 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 205 

On the following day, he found himself on the 
train under guard on the way to Washington, where 
he was to be imprisoned. Among the soldiers en- 
trusted with the custody of the numerous captives 
on board was a man who was indebted to him for 
many kindnesses while lying in the hands of the 
Confederates; and he not only recognized Munson 
as soon as he saw him, but also readily promised to 
assist him indirectly to escape by turning his eyes 
away, should the ranger steal from the train when 
it stopped at the next station to take on water for 
the engine. But before this station was reached, 
the guard was changed, and Munson decided it 
would be too risky to try to leave his car without 
collusion with the new man, who stood, with fixed 
bayonet, at the door. 

Arriving in Washington, all the prisoners were 
first drawn up in the street, and then marched in 
one body towards the Old Capitol, now converted 
into a military jail. The ranger's plight was one 
of the worst of all among the captives; having been 
deprived of his outer clothes when seized, he had 
found a very poor substitute in an ill-fitting, cast-off 
suit which had been given him and that left him in 
a ragged and seedy condition. His feet were en- 
tirely naked of covering, for the pair of rough horse- 
hide boots which he had received were several sizes 
too large for him to wear with comfort. But he 



206 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

was too accustomed to the importance of chance in 
the soldier's wild life to throw even these boots 
away; and he patiently bore them along over his 
shoulder in the hope that some one would interpret 
this action as a signal of distress, and either give 
him outright another pair or accept them in ex- 
change. 

Suddenly, another use for the heavy boots oc- 
curred to his ingenious mind; might it not be pos- 
sible to swing them at the guard like a club? With 
the guard knocked unconscious to the ground by a 
blow from the boots, Munson might seize the oppor- 
tunity to run up a dark alley and get safely away 
in spite of pursuit. 

The man who walked next to him in the ranks 
had once been a resident of Washington, and was 
familiar with every street, however obscure, of the 
city. His name was Denis Darden. This man, 
being as eager to escape as Munson, received the 
whispered details of the latter's plan with warm 
encouragement and named the most convenient by- 
way that might be used for their purpose. Before 
reaching it, they fell back from rank to rank, with- 
out attracting notice, until they had come to the 
last in the procession, which was followed by a 
single guard at each of its two corners. 

Munson had taken the boots from his shoulders 
and was furtively experimenting as to the best 



PRIVATE MUN SON'S ESCAPE 207 

manner of striking the nearest of the two guards 
with them, when some friends of Darden, who were 
looking on from the sidewalk, recognized him, and 
immediately ran out to greet him and to walk at 
his elbow some distance along the street. As they 
were still with him when the alley was reached, 
Darden leaned forward and whispered to Munson, 
that, should the two attempt to escape now, it 
would expose these friends to severe punishment, 
for it would certainly be taken for granted that 
they had been in collusion with the prisoners. 

On arriving at the Old Capitol, Munson and 
Darden along with thirty-six other captives were 
shut up in a large room, the only window of which, 
by the irony of circumstance, faced the bronze 
statue of Liberty standing above the Halls of 
Congress. They afterwards had ample opportun- 
ity, from hour to hour, to inspect her graceful pro- 
portions and sadly to contrast the freedom which 
she suggested with their own shackled condition. 

But Munson at least was not content with such 
reflections. His mind went to work at once re- 
volving every possible chance of escape which his 
eye, roving inquiringly from side to side, could detect. 
It was, however, some days before any that arose 
appeared to him to offer the smallest prospect of 
realizing his hopes. But finally one did present it- 
self. It seems that the privilege was allowed the 



208 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

group of captives to take an hour's exercise in the 
prison yard at night; Munson noticed that two 
negro scavengers were admitted at the same time; 
and he soon opened up a conversation with them 
while they were engaged with their work. It was 
with pleasure that he discovered that one of the 
men had formerly been the slave of a family in 
Virginia whom he numbered among his warmest 
friends; and this at once created a tie between them 
which he hoped might be used to assist him to 
escape. 

Allowing some days to go by in order to make 
his proposition appear less abrupt, he, at the end 
of that time, quietly offered the negro five dollars 
in gold if he would permit him to take a seat in 
the garbage cart just before it should start for the 
outer gate that night. 

"But, boss," replied the man, looking at him 
with alarm, "You's a white man, we's black." 

Munson had not overlooked this fact; nor had he 
failed to think of the remedy for it. 

"Leave that to me," said he quietly to his colored 
friend. 

Retiring to the prisoner's room, he took a piece 
of burnt cork and blackened his face and hands so 
successfully that all trace of his real color was con- 
cealed. Drawing on his rough rawhide boots, and 
pulling his old hat down closely over his shock of 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 209 

hair, and rumpling up his shabby clothes still more, 
he soon joined the two negro scavengers in the 
yard. 

"Whar's you bin?" said his new friend loudly 
and roughly, "you's bin loafin' sho'. Now take dis 
shovel and hustle. We's bin heah too long already." 

Munson gripped the shovel and quickly surpassed 
his companions in the quantity of garbage which 
he threw into the cart. His vigor seemed to arouse 
their admiration, without, however, in the slightest 
degree exciting their emulation. 

When the load had been completed, he took a 
seat beside his two companions in front of the cart, 
which was then started off for the outer gate. They 
got through the inner one without a challenge and 
drove up to the outer. The heavy iron barrier 
swung back and Munson could see the broad street 
and free sky line spreading away indefinitely. A 
heavy blow was given to the haunches of the cart 
horse and they moved forward to pass under the 
arch where the last sentinel was stationed; but in a 
minute, all the hopes of the prisoner were dashed, 
— a. bayonet was suddenly lowered and pointed 
straight at him. He could not fail to observe it or 
the stalwart figure in uniform which rose behind it. 
The brogue of the Irish voice which now spoke 
would have been sufficient in itself to stop him. 

"Git down from that," it called out, "and go 



210 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

back to your quarters. Two of yez neegars come 
in and three of yez is thrying to go out." 

The prisoner was compelled to return crestfallen 
to his room, but the Irish sentinel was too good 
natured to give information to the authorities of the 
supposed negro's attempt to escape. Munson was 
left at liberty to contrive some other scheme to 
elude his jailers. Noticing that a baker's wagon de- 
livered a loaf of bread daily within the bounds, he 
approached the driver when no one was looking on 
and discovered him to be as susceptible to a bribe 
as the black scavenger. Having hidden himself 
under a mass of loaves, which had been reserved for 
another patron, he was soon delighted to find the 
wagon in motion on its way to the outer gate. On 
reaching the barrier, it came to a halt under the 
arch as usual before passing into the street. Mun- 
son could hear the heavy footfall and the rattle of 
the sentinel's accoutrements as he strode to the back 
of the vehicle to make his customary examination. 
In a twinkling, the ranger felt his foot seized in an 
iron grasp, and his whole body was quickly dragged 
out from under the loaves. 

"The next time you thry to escape, young man," 
said the sentinel drily, "you had better hide your 
toes." 

It was true. Not only the toes but the entire 
foot was exposed to sight at the back of the cart. 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 211 

Again the sentinel was too amiable to report what 
was apparently a second prisoner's attempt to get 
away; had he done so, Munson would have been 
liable at the least to solitary confinement and at 
the most to the punishment of death. To neither 
penalty was he subjected because his frustrated ef- 
forts were not brought to the attention of the prison 
authorities. 

But not all the sentinels were so considerate of 
the captives whose plans they were able to thwart. 
One of Munson's companions entered into a secret 
agreement with the soldier who stood guard under 
his window to allow him to pass after he lowered 
himself to the ground. Having succeeded in doing 
this by sawing through the iron bars and letting 
himself down by means of a rope which he had 
made out of the sheets and blankets of his bed, he 
received a bayonet thrust through the back as he 
started to steal away in the darkness. 

Neither a terrible end like this, nor his own two 
failures could discourage the active brain and the 
determined spirit of the youthful ranger. He was 
too accustomed to peril to shrink long from any 
form of it, however imminent and alarming, and 
he was extremely restive under the restraints of his 
present situation. For the third time, he looked 
around him to find out whether there was not some 
new means which could be used to enable him to 
escape. 



212 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

His inquiring eye had noticed that a hospital 
steward visited u^^ prison at least three times each 
day, and that he wore on either arm a rather un- 
usual insignia, consisting of a green strip at least 
two inches wide, with a narrower border of yellow 
braid. In the centre of this band, there was visible 
a figure of Mercury holding a staff encircled by the 
body of a snake and with spreading wings at the 
top. This design was also in yellow, and in sharp 
contrast with the green tint contiguous to it. 

Would it be possible to impersonate the steward? 
To do so, it would be necessary first to procure 
garments which at least sufficiently resembled those 
the man wore to attract no notice from the casual 
eye. It happened that Munson had recently re- 
ceived from a wealthy aunt residing in New York 
a considerable sum in gold coin with which to 
supply his most urgent wants. He used a portion 
of this sum in buying the blue blouse of a bounty 
jumper whom he had found in the prison. His 
gray trousers, being still in sound condition, were 
accepted in a trade for a pair that would easily 
pass as blue in candle or gas light. 

But how was he to obtain a substitute for the 
green strip and the yellow figure of Mercury which 
the steward wore on each arm? 

Was it possible that the green strip could be cut 
from the linings of the gray jackets which his fellow 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 213 

Confederate prisoners still used? At night, when 
they were fast asleep, he took a knife and quietly 
ripped open these linings, one after another, in his 
search for what he needed, carefully sewing up each 
one before beginning on the next; but this trouble 
was taken in vain, — there was not to be seen even 
one thread colored exactly as was required. Nor 
could he discover anywhere within the bounds of 
the prison a single object that would afford him 
that material. Green seemed to be the one tint 
which had been omitted from the colors of the 
different rooms and their contents. 

During several days, he remained in a state of 
despair, — the outlook for his escape seemed now to 
be entirely hopeless. Happening while in this mood 
to be lounging in the sutler's shop, he listlessly fol- 
lowed the motions of the man as he took down from 
the shelves box after box. Suddenly, Munson ob- 
served among these boxes, as they stood in a row 
on the counter, one that had a cover colored to the 
precise shade of greenness which he had been trying 
so hard to find. Suppressing his eagerness, he asked 
in an indifferent voice: 

"Will you let me have that green pasteboard box? 
I need something in which to keep my valuables." 

The sutler laughed. 

"Young man," he replied, "there are no burglars 
in this prison. Your valuables are perfectly safe in 
your pocket." 



214 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

But, nevertheless, he very kindly and cordially 
made a present of the box as requested. Munson 
hurried away with it to his room, and at once, in 
the moonlight, began to cut the top in strips of 
the length desired. To his delighted astonishment, 
he soon discovered that the body of the box, though 
covered over with green, was really yellow straw- 
board beneath the first paper layer; and that, in 
dividing it up into strips, he had only to shave 
away this green edge to procure the yellow border 
which he needed for his insignia. Without any 
difficulty, he was thus able to manufacture the two 
bands which were to encircle his arms. 

The Mercury, wand, and serpent required more 
ingenuity to reproduce them; but he finally suc- 
ceeded in accomplishing it by cutting the joint fig- 
ures in the green facing of the box and then peel- 
ing this away until he exposed the yellow paset- 
board beneath. It was then easy to repeat the 
several figures in this yellow material itself. They 
were not as delicately and artistically fashioned as 
if they had been of Florentine origin, but he trusted 
that their deficiencies would not be detected by the 
casual glances of the persons whom he would have 
to pass on his way to the prison gate. 

Dawn was breaking when he finished his task. 
But before he retired to bed, he put on the blue 
blouse which he had bought — and also the pair of 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 215 

trousers which he had obtained by exchange, and 
having attached the insignia to the arms of the 
blouse, took as discriminating a look at himself as 
the gray light of dawn permitted. So soon as the 
opportunity offered, he spoke to Denis Darden of 
his intentions. 

"You are a dead man if found out," said Darden 
in a warning voice. "The guards have orders to 
shoot the first man trying to escape; and even if 
you get out of the prison safely, it will be impos- 
sible for you to reach the other side of the Po- 
tomac." 

But Munson was not to be persuaded to abandon 
his plan; and at last Darden fell in with it so far 
as to mention the names of several persons in Wash- 
ington to whom he should apply for assistance, 
should he be able to get beyond the outer gate of 
the prison. That evening, just before the candles 
were lighted, the ranger put on the blouse and 
trousers; and having covered up these garments 
and the insignia on his arms by donning an over- 
coat lent him by one of his companions, he went 
out into the prison yard, accompanied by Darden, 
as if both intended to take the exercise permitted 
at that hour. The sentinel, thinking that this was 
their purpose as usual, allowed them to pass with- 
out a challenge. On reaching the dark shadow of 
the wall in the yard, Munson pulled off the over- 



216 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

coat and handed it to Darden, who, having silently 
received it, turned away, overcome with emotion, 
to retrace his steps to the prison room. 

Brave as Munson was, he afterwards acknowledged 
that he was fairly benumbed by his consciousness 
of uncertainty as he approached the door of the 
long hall through which he had to pass before he 
could reach the prison gate. As he entered, the 
sentinel glanced at him a second and then turned 
his eyes away with indifference. Encouraged by 
this unsuspicious reception, the ranger threw out 
his breast, and so held off his arms that the insignia 
came into conspicuous view as he moved down the 
crowded apartment on his way to the further door. 
No one stopped or spoke to him; it was simply 
taken for granted by those who knew the hospital 
steward personally that this new man was acting as 
his substitute, either on this single occasion or for 
several days, while his superior was enjoying a short 
holiday. The inner guards bowed respectfully as he 
went by and bade him good night; and he made 
his way with equal ease through the group of the 
relief force which was just about to come on to 
take their place. He was now approaching the pre- 
cincts of the outer gate, where he had been stopped 
twice when on the very eve of escape and ignomin- 
iously sent back to his former bounds. It seemed 
to him that he could already feel the fresh air 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 217 

from the open world outside blowing against his 
cheek; that he could see the lamps shining from the 
tops of their posts; and hear the noise of hurrying 
feet, and rolling wheels, and all the other varied 
sounds that echo along the streets. Would he be 
again halted when he had only one step to take to 
win his old liberty of life? 

Whatever apprehension he might have felt at the 
moment, there was no indication of fear or uncer- 
tainty in his bearing as he came in sight of the 
guard who was charged with opening and closing 
the street gate. This man did not recognize him 
or glance at him with suspicion; slipping the bolt 
back and bowing politely to the disguised prisoner, 
he allowed him to pass out without one word except 
a friendly "Good night. Sir," which was repeated 
by the sentinel standing under the outer arch. The 
bolt clicked sharply behind Mimson and he was 
once more a free man in the world at large. 

But where was he to go? There could not have 
been for him a more dangerous place than this city 
through which he was now called upon to thread 
his way if he was to escape to the hills beyond the 
Potomac. It was full of soldiers and persons in the 
civil service of the Government, all of whom were 
enemies so unrelenting that, if they were to meet 
him on the street and should see into his real char- 
acter, they would have him arrested on the spot. 



218 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

How was he to find his way to the houses of the 
people who had been recommended by Darden as 
certain to give him an asylum? He was without 
any knowledge at all of the streets of Washington, 
and he ran a serious risk, should he inquire of the 
foot passengers whom he should encounter, for 
this would indicate at once that he was a stranger 
in town at a time when all strangers in the capital 
were looked upon with suspicion. But there was no 
other course for him to pursue. Tearing the insignia 
from his arms, which he had forgotten to do while 
meditating, he started off in the direction in which 
he supposed the boarding house kept by the lady 
whom Darden knew as ■ a Southern sympathizer 
was situated. In asking the way, he was prudent 
enough to mention only the number of the house. 
On reaching it, and ringing the bell, he was met at 
the door by a negro servant. 

"I don't reckon you kin see de Missis at dis' 
hour," he said, looking the ranger over from head 
to foot very superciliously. "Your name, sah, if 
you please." 

In a short time, the lady appeared. Munson 
whispered in her ear. 

"Never heard of you," she answered in a tone of 
agitation. "George," she said, sharply turning to 
the servant, "go up stairs and shut that window." 

When the negro had reluctantly disappeared, the 
lady drew Munson into the hall. 



PRIVATE MUN SON'S ESCAPE 219 

"Do you want money?" she asked hastily, and 
before she could receive a reply, had pressed a roll 
of greenbacks into his hand; but he quickly returned 
them. 

"No, I only wish you to conceal me for a day or 
two, or at least for the night." 

"Impossible. I am suspected as a Southern spy, 
and this house will be the first place searched when 
youi' escape is known." 

She then gave him the name of a Southern sjnn- 
pathizer who would probably afford him a hiding 
place until he could leave the city with safety. 
Catching the footfall of the servant coming down 
the stairway, she pretended to shuffle Munson un- 
ceremoniously out of the doorway, and as he de- 
scended the steps, he heard her scolding the negro 
and threatening to dismiss him if he admitted 
another tramp to the house. 

It was not until the ranger had visited at least 
four other houses, and been turned away with the 
same anxiety and agitation from all, that he at 
last received a cordial invitation to remain from the 
warm-hearted mother and sister of Denis Darden; 
but he knew that their house would be among the 
very first to be ransacked for his capture. By this 
time, the roll had been called at the prison and his 
absence discovered. Already the pursuers must be 
out on the streets and going through suspected 



220 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

residences in the hope of catching him before he 
could cross the Potomac. 

He had now but one more number to look up, 
and should the people there turn their backs on 
him, he would be left without any possible refuge. 
As he made his way thither by the directions which 
Mrs. Darden had given, he kept to the darkest 
streets and alleys, and avoided passing through 
groups of people who might scrutinize him too cur- 
iously. The house which he was endeavoring to 
find was the "palace" of a gambler named Luns- 
ford, which was one of the most notorious resorts 
of the capital, and at night was haunted by many 
dissipated military officers and civil officials. He 
loitered in the neighborhood until midnight and then 
boldly entered. A miscellaneous crowd of men was 
present, among whom he noticed many Federal uni- 
forms, which made his own blue blouse less con- 
spicuous. Lunsford having been pointed out to him, 
he went straight up to the gambler, and in a whis- 
per, informed him of his predicament. 

"Turned away five times!" exclaimed Lunsford 
in low tones. "Served you right. Why did you 
not come to me first? Denis must have told you 
that I could be trusted. Confound you, the delay 
may cost you your liberty. Now go right in that 
back room and get some grub, and prepare to light 
out from Washington before daybreak." 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 221 

As soon as Munson had swallowed his supper, 
the gambler put his manager in charge of the estab- 
lishment for the rest of the night and started with 
the ranger for Georgetown. 

"Let us get away as quietly as we can/' he said. 
"Some of those soldiers in the room next to ours 
were sent there to look out for you." 

It was two o'clock in the morning when they 
drew up at a small hotel in Georgetown which was 
under the management of a Frenchman. Thrust- 
ing a roll of bills into Munson's hands and directing 
his host to keep him in hiding until he could pro- 
vide a safe escort across the river, the generous 
and kind-hearted gambler jumped into his buggy 
and returned at once to Washington. 

It was a difficult undertaking to find a person not 
likely to excite the suspicions of the sentinels who 
would have to be passed along the road to the 
bridge. But finally, an arrangement was made with 
a countryman who visited the city daily to sell the 
produce of his market garden; and even in his case 
it was not until his wavering purpose had been 
braced by the gift of a bottle of brandy that he 
consented to run so serious a risk to his own lib- 
erty. It was first decided that Munson should pose 
as the old man's son; and the two then mounted 
the cart and set out. It was not until the last 
picket was reached that any delay in their progress 
occurred. 



222 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"Where did you get that boy from, farmer?" he 
asked suspiciously, when he had ordered the cart to 
be stopped. "He was not with you when you 
passed here this morning." 

The old fellow swore loudly to the contrary; but 
the picket continued for some time to look incred- 
ulously at Munson. Finally, he grew friendly and 
asked for a drink. 

"I am a temperance man," repKed the market 
gardener, "I never took a drop in my life." 

In the end, they were permitted to go on. 

As soon as the picket was lost to sight by a turn 
in the road, the old man very cautiously drew the 
brandy bottle from his pocket. 

"Sonny," he said, with a wink at Munson, after 
he had swallowed a long draught, "if you was as 
badly scared as I was just now, you'd be mighty 
glad to take a swig out of this bottle, young as yer 
is." 

There were two important difficulties which the 
ranger, after parting with the market gardener, had 
to overcome if he was to succeed in returning to his 
command, — ^he had to avoid all pickets and strag- 
gling troopers; and he had also to obtain food along 
the road from day to day. 

Pursuing the safest route, he went back across the 
Potomac after arriving at a point opposite Mont- 
gomery county in Maryland. As he was tramping 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 223 

along, tired in body and very unkempt in appear- 
ance, he overtook a Federal rural guard, who was 
making his daily round on horseback. They at once 
fell into conversation, in the course of which the 
man gave him a friendly warning. 

"Be careful, my boy," he said, "to keep away 
from the river. The pickets might take you for a 
rebel and shoot you. Suppose you let me show you 
the right way for you to go. I can accompany you 
some distance." 

The ground on either side of the road was covered 
with a thick mantle of snow, and the roadbed itself 
was very slippery from a coating of ice. Munson, 
every now and then, would lose his footing, and he 
only prevented himself from falling by grasping the 
neck of the horse or the trooper's leg or saddle. In 
doing this, in one instance, his hand struck the 
guard's holster; immediately the thought flashed 
through his mind: why not grab the pistol, shoot 
the man, and take possession of his carbine, horse, 
and warm coat? He would, with such an equip- 
ment, find no difficulty in escaping quietly from the 
hostile region through which he was travelling so 
slowly and so laboriously. It was now night, but 
he could easily see, in the light of the moon, the 
weapon swung at the guard's back, which would 
have assured him protection from recapture even if 
he were detained in that dangerous country for 



224 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

some time by the risk of running upon the pickets 
along the river. 

As they moved on, Munson noticed that the 
trooper's foot had slipped from the stirrup. A sud- 
den and vigorous pull by the ankle, and the horse- 
man might be drawn in a struggling heap to the 
ground and dispatched. There was a large tree just 
ahead, and in its deep shadow the first grasp might 
be taken before the man would have the smallest 
suspicion of his intention. 

The ranger had fully resolved to venture it, when 
the trooper, observing his silence, leaned over from 
his horse and said in a very kindly voice: 

"If you are tired, comrade, I will walk and let 
you ride a spell. I guess it must be pretty toilsome 
jogging along these frozen roads." 

At once, all thought of harming the man vanished 
from Munson's mind; and when they parted, they 
shook hands with the warmth and sympathy of a 
friendship that had been tested by an equal share 
in the hard conditions of war. The trooper never 
knew that he had, on that occasion, looked squarely 
in the face of Death for several minutes; and that 
his own kindly spirit alone had saved him from the 
fatal blow. 

On approaching the banks of the Potomac, Mim- 
son directed his steps towards the home of a South- 
em sympathizer, who had been recommended to him 



PRIVATE MUNSON'S ESCAPE 225 

by his host in Georgetown. Here he was received 
with warm hospitality, and was generously provided 
with an abundance of thick clothing to keep out 
the chill of the biting weather when he should con- 
tinue his journey into Virginia. 

The second night, he set out for the Potomac, 
but before reaching it was compelled to hide him- 
self behind a high rock to avoid being seen by two 
Federal pickets who happened to be passing. Leav- 
ing his place of concealment when the voices had 
died away, he walked down cautiously to the river- 
side to find that the thaw which had begun that 
morning had so far weakened the ice still covering 
the surface that he could hear it crackling and 
growling as if it were about to break up. But it 
was now too late to hesitate. He started out to 
cross over, and as he gingerly went along, the sheet 
beneath his feet would hum and warp to such a 
degree that he was apprehensive less he should sink 
into the running water at the next step. At one 
point, he slipped and fell, but the ice there was 
strong enough to bear the weight of the blow, and 
he picked himself up and set out again for the Vir- 
ginia side. 

To add to the risk of the passage, he could see the 
fires of the Federal pickets shining here and there 
along either shore; and he had reason to fear that 
his figure, outlined against the night sky as he 



226 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

advanced, might have been observed and steps 
taken to intercept him so soon as he should reach 
the bank. But on leaving the ice, he met no guard 
to challenge and stop him, and he silently took 
refuge in the nearest wood under the screen of dark- 
ness. 

On the journey to Leesburg, he was forced to con- 
ceal himself from time to time in thick bushes to 
escape the eyes of Federal raiders; and the house in 
the town where he passed a night was subjected to 
a search while he was hidden in one of the closets. 

On joining Mosby at Upperville, his first inquiry 
was about the fate of the mare which had thrown 
him into the hands of the enemy by balking at the 
stone wall. He was told, to his delight, that she 
had followed in the track of the flying troopers 
and had been caught and led in by one of his com- 
rades. When he visited the stable where she was 
kept, the mare recognized him at once and showed 
her pleasure at the sight of him by a loud whinny. 
He threw his arms around her neck, and was not 
afterwards ashamed to admit, that, in his relief, he 
had given away to a hearty cry. 



CHAPTER XII 
Adventures of a Scout 



CHAPTER XII 
ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 

The single purpose which every scout had in view 
was to collect information for the guidance of his 
superior officer. He was sometimes accompanied by 
several comrades, but, as a rule, he preferred to 
wander about alone, either on foot or on horseback; 
relying upon no arm but his own; trusting to no 
weapons but his revolver and his sabre; and leaving 
it to no mind and no eye to direct his footsteps 
except those with which nature had endowed him. 
He always felt indifference to or contempt for dan- 
ger, since danger was the only atmosphere which he 
breathed; and his thirst for adventure was un- 
quenchable, although every hour of his life was 
crowded with reckless exploits and hair-breadth es- 
capes. 

The scout was always a man who appeared to 
have been born for his perilous calling; he took it 
up, not with the hope of promotion, or even with a 
desire to fulfill a sense of duty, but rather in the 
spirit which can find no satisfaction in existence 
unless it is keyed up to the highest pitch, like the 
life of the roving knight-at-arms in the Age of 
Chivalry. 



230 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

He advanced and retreated; he made his way to 
this region or to that; he bivouacked or moved on 
just as his own judgment dictated at the moment. 
He haunted the woods and the brakes like the sylvan 
gods of antiquity, who drew a contented breath 
only in the shade of the trees. His step was as soft 
and noiseless as the footfall of a faun or a hare; his 
eye as keen in its glance and as unceasingly watch- 
ful as the eye of a furtive lynx that had been able 
to preserve its life only by sleepless vigilance; his 
tongue as silent as that of the cunning fox stalking 
its prey. He never lay down in his blanket under 
the screen of the densest copse of pine or scrub oak 
to snatch a short sleep .that he did not keep one 
ear open for the crackling of a twig or the echo of 
a far-away shot. 

There was not a hog-path in the forest, not a 
deer-walk running down to some shady stream, not 
a woodchopper's road winding aimlessly about 
through the dark underbrush, that he did not know 
by the yard and by the mile. During night and 
day, he prowled like an invisible ghost around the 
enemy's camps, peeping warily out from behind a 
bush or rock, without ever showing his face or using 
his voice even in a whispered exclamation to himself, 
and with his whole being concentrated in his eyes. 

All this time, his horse was tethered somewhere 
deep in the forest, where it patiently waited for the 
return of his prying master. 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 231 

Should the enemy come suddenly and unexpectedly 
upon him, which rarely happened, and he fell, then 
his body lay where it dropped, and there were no 
soldier's hands to gather up his bones from the 
bleaching wind and sunshine. He died alone as he 
had lived. He had been a solitary rover, and his 
fate remained a mystery like the exploits of his 
secretive career. 

If, on the other hand, he survived the encounters 
which he could not always avoid, however great his 
caution and his prudence, then he returned to the 
headquarters of his commanding officer without 
looking upon the facts accompanying his escape as 
of sufficient importance or novelty to be related to 
his comrades. Was not dangerous adventure the 
routine of his existence? Why should he talk of 
that which was so constant and so habitual? He 
simply took it all for granted, and rarely spoke, 
even with the most modest words, of the perilous 
scenes through which he had passed, or of the risks 
which he had been compelled to run at every hour 
of his wanderings. 

Such was the type to which the flower of Con- 
federate scouts, Frank Stringfellow, belonged. No 
hero in the pages of Scott, Stevenson, or Dumas 
ever found himself in more hazardous situations, as 
imagined by those authors, than this young Virgin- 
ian did in reality in the course of the Civil War. 



232 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Two of his adventures, picked out of the great 
number that might be selected, are of particular 
interest. 

In November, 1863, Meade lay encamped in the 
neighborhood of Culpeper Court-House. Large 
bodies of Federal troops were stationed at different 
points, but so near together that they could be 
further concentrated for attack, if desired, within 
a very short time. What were the designs of the 
Federal General as revealed by his movements? 
That was a question which General Lee wished to 
have answered, and as the first step towards ob- 
taining the information wanted, Stringfellow, ac- 
companied by two comrades, was sent out to prowl 
around the Federal posts and to discover what 
should appear to be the enemy's immediate inten- 
tions. 

The three men, mounted on spirited and well- 
trained horses, made straight for one of the largest 
of the Federal camps. Some time before they 
came in sight of it, they leaped from their saddles, 
tied their horses in a covert, and stole cautiously 
through the underbrush towards the quarter from 
which sounds of the presence of troops came. At 
last a small opening in the trees revealed to them 
the spectacle of an encampment which appeared to 
cover many acres with the white canvas tops of its 
tents. A closer view brought out all the usual 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 233 

features of such a station, — the sentinels pacing 
their several beats; the soldiers lounging singly or 
in groups around their separate areas; the officers 
passing to and fro or engaged in conversation with 
each other. 

Throughout the day, Stringfellow and his com- 
panions, quietly and without being observed, circled 
about the spot with the purpose of calculating as 
far as practicable the number of men embraced in 
the assemblage before them. Towards night, they 
retired to a place lying some distance back, in the 
hope that they would be able to encounter here 
stragglers, who might be captured without alarming 
their comrades. It was from such stragglers that 
they were certain to obtain information which 
would confirm or disprove the correctness of their 
impressions of what they had already seen. For- 
agers were always abroad in the vicinity of so large 
a camp, and it was possible that they might be 
easily seized and held, as they were often simply 
the unarmed hangers-on of the sutler's department. 

The three scouts had been moving about so 
energetically for many hours that they decided that 
they would lie down for a short rest; and they 
chose, with that view, a spot which was completely 
encircled by a dense growth of trees. It was now 
night, and the air had grown so damp and so cold 
that they determined to light a fire, which they 



234 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

thought would be fully screened from sight without. 
Their fatigue and the grateful warmth combined 
made them drowsy at once, and not many minutes 
had passed before the three were fast asleep wrapped 
in their blankets. So sound was their slumber that 
they were not awakened by a rain which set in, and 
they continued to lie just as they had thrown them- 
selves down on the ground until day had dawned. 
At that early hour, a squad of six Federal infantry- 
men set out from camp to scour the coimtry for 
butter, eggs, and poultry, and on their way, they 
stumbled upon the hiding place of the three Con- 
federates. Stringfellow was awakened by a hand 
removing his blanket, which he had drawn over his 
face. 

"How are you, Johnny Reb," exclaimed a derisive 
voice. "Come get up. These wet quarters are not 
comfortable enough for you. We can do a great 
deal better than this for you in the camp." 

Stringfellow blinked as if he were still half asleep, 
but he was taking in, with the rapidity of lightning 
and the furtiveness of a hunted catamount, the 
figures before him and weighing the chances of 
escaping. He had resolved that he would not sur- 
render. His companions had not been aroused, 
and if he had to act quickly, no reliance was to be 
placed on their assistance. Closing his eyes and 
drawing his blanket more closely about his form, he 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 235 

turned over as if to resume his interrupted slumber. 

"Go away," he muttered drowsily, "I want to 
sleep." 

The Federal soldiers laughed immoderately at this 
speech, and before they could recover their gravity, 
the scout had reached down to his belt and laid 
his fingers on the hilt of his pistol. As he did so, 
he drew a long breath and pulled the blanket further 
up over his head in order to conceal the movement 
of his free hand. By a second movement, he drew 
the pistol from its holster and quietly cocked it. 

Hardly had this been done when the leader of 
the Federal squad grasped the blanket and roughly 
dragged it away. Immediately, a shot rang out, 
and he fell dead across the body of the prone scout; 
a fact that saved the latter, for the other Federals, 
in their astonishment, fired off their revolvers so 
confusedly that only the corpse of their comrade 
was struck. As Stringfellow leaped to his feet, he 
discharged his pistol at one of his assailants bringing 
him to his knees; and a shot at a second one was 
equally successful. The remaining men took to 
their heels. As the camp was very near, the scout 
was well aware that within a few minutes an entire 
company of pursuers would be hot on the trail of 
the three Confederates. 

As soon as the Federal soldiers ran off, Stringfel- 
low's two companions, without stopping to wait for 



236 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

him or to bring away their hokters and blankets, 
fled to the nearest forest, but with so little atten- 
tion to each other's movements that they rushed 
off in different directions. 

Before lying down to sleep the night before, 
Stringfellow had taken off his shoes, and he now 
found himself in his socks, which, however much 
it might at first quicken his flight, would soon ex- 
pose his feet to sharp laceration, and thus in the 
end seriously impede his progress; but he had no 
time to think of this; and following the example of 
his companions, he made for the nearest covert as 
promising the earliest concealment. 

In the meanwhile the enraged pursuers had started 
from the camp, and they had scattered at once so 
widely that, unless the scout could make his way 
towards the mountains, every avenue of escape 
would be closed; and even this avenue appeared a 
few minutes later to be shut when he saw a squad 
of cavalry galloping towards the foothills to cut 
him off from that asylum. He knew that he was 
now entirely surrounded and that nothing but the 
coolness of his own nerve and his skill in wood- 
craft could save him from capture; which he was 
fully aware would mean that he would be shot as 
a guerrilla; for while he still had on his Confederate 
uniform, a proof that he was not a spy, yet he had 
been in the immediate vicinity of the largest of the 




> 



Pi 



ADVENTURES OF A SOOUT 237 

Federal camps, and had shot down a Federal soldier. 
He made up his mind that he would either get 
safely away or kill as many of the enemy as he 
could before he yielded up his own life. It was not 
the first time that he had been in imminent peril, 
and now, as formerly, he did not despair of escap- 
ing. 

He quickly found himself in a large wood, and as 
he ran forward with bare head and shoeless feet, he 
could hear the enemy behind him and on either 
side shouting to each other, as they beat the covert, 
just as if he were some wild beast that could be 
forced out of his hiding place and shot as he leaped 
madly into view. Like a fox followed by a pack of 
hounds hot upon its scent, he turned, doubled, and 
circled, in the hope of throwing the pursuers off his 
track. He was soon driven out of that part of the 
wood where there was a heavy undergrowth, and 
unless he could get away from among the open 
trees, the trunks of which alone afforded him any 
cover, he would be seen, and either shot from a 
distance or run down and seized. 

The edge of the forest was now only a few hun- 
dred feet away, and he descried in the open field 
which began at the end of this space a small clump 
of stunted pine; and for this refuge he made with 
all the speed of which he was capable. Leaping 
into the copse unobserved, he hid himself in the 



238 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

bushy top of a fallen tree and listened for the 
sounds of the approaching pursuers. If found, his 
fate would be hopeless, and in order to make the 
enemy pay dearly for his life, he reloaded his pistol 
and carefully inspected its caps; and when he saw 
that all was in perfect order, he placed himself in 
such a position that he could fire on the instant. 

Hardly had he effected this, when four Federal 
soldiers left the wood and came straight towards 
the spot where he was concealed. Seemingly, they 
all passed by the clump of pines without stopping 
to make a search. Stringfellow, raising his head to 
ascertain whether this was so, caught the eye of 
one of them who had loitered behind the rest. 

"Here he is, here he is," shouted the man to his 
companions, and numerous voices responded from 
every direction to the triumphant cry. 

The scout leaped to his feet, pistol in hand, and 
for a moment he stood with his eyes fixed directly 
on the eyes of his nearest adversary; who appeared 
to be afraid to approach any closer until he could 
have the support of his comrades. The same feel- 
ing evidently governed the other three men when 
they had run back to the spot. Here was a desper- 
ate guerrilla to deal with, and they all silently de- 
cided that it would be best to await the arrival of 
the other soldiers, who were now seen rushing to- 
wards them through the wood. Already the scout 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 239 

was surrounded, and in a few minutes, the strength 
of the cordon would be increased an hundred fold. 

"Oh, for a horse," was the thought that was 
uppermost in his mind as he gazed around at his 
enemies! His feet had been lacerated by stones and 
rough ground in the course of his flight, and he 
felt as if his ability to run further was almost spent. 
There seemed now at last to be left to him not the 
smallest avenue of escape. 

He looked around with the gaze of sharp despair 
when he saw in the field not far off a young mule, 
which had been turned out without bridle or halter 
to crop the grass. With a jump forward and a 
loud shout, the scout made for the animal as fast 
as his legs could carry him. The suddenness of his 
action and the rapidity of his movements so con- 
fused the aim of his enemies that their fusillade of 
shots failed to strike him. 

Mounting to the back of the mule at a bound, 
the scout dug his feet into its sides, and these blows, 
coupled with the fright which had been given it by 
the scout's wild leap, sent it galloping away, with 
its rider, hatless and shoeless, clinging with one 
hand to its mane, and with the other, grasping the 
butt of his pistol. Recovering from its astonishment 
after it had run for a considerable distance, the mule 
stopped and began to kick up its heels and to arch 
its back, in a determined effort to throw the scout; 



240 CONFEDExlATE SOLDIERS 

and as the latter had no means of keeping his very- 
difficult seat, he very soon found himself lying flat 
on the ground; but in a twinkling, he arose to his 
feet, and followed by the shouts and shots of the 
enemy, who had again taken up the pursuit, he ran 
into a large body of woods that sprang up on the 
other side of the open field. 

For some time, he fled through this forest at the 
top of his speed, but gradually his sense of fatigue 
grew overwhelming and he felt faint from his exer- 
tions. Now for the first moment too he became 
conscious of a burning thirst. His run fell off to a 
walk, and he looked about to find a stream or a 
spring, to which the character of the ground in 
sight appeared to be favorable. A few steps further 
brought him to the bank of a brook, in a narrow, 
grassy meadow, and he threw himself on his knees 
to drink of its cool waters. 

Hardly had he quenched his thirst, when he heard 
again the calls and cries of his pursuers pushing 
straight towards him, and now at no great distance 
away. He felt that he did not have the strength 
to continue his flight, and that his capture was 
inevitable unless he could hide himself in the weeds 
that fringed the sides of the stream. He had barely 
taken refuge among them and drawn the stalks 
together about his prostrate body, when one of the 
enemy broke through the line of trees and came 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 241 

down the short slope to the margin of the rivulet. 
He walked backwards and forwards along the bank 
for a few feet with his eyes bent on the ground, 
and then suddenly called out to his comrades, who 
were now in ear-shot: 

"Here are the prints of the guerrilla's knees in 
the sand. He ain't far off." 

Soon all the members of the party had gathered 
on the spot and were eagerly studying the knee 
marks, and when satisfied by their scrutiny, they 
scattered to search for the fugitive, who, they were 
confident, was now almost again in their grasp. The 
httle meadow contained several clusters of bushes, 
which seemed to offer a leafy nook of refuge; and 
these were in turn cautiously beaten and inspected. 

All this time, the scout was lying on his back in 
the bower of weeds and grasses, with a cocked pistol 
in his hand and his ears acutely alert to the sounds 
and cries that accompanied the hunt. He had 
made up his mind, that, should his place of con- 
cealment be broken into, he would not attempt to 
get away. He was, in fact, now too exhausted to 
succeed in escaping by running off a second time. 
But before he should be shot down, he was determ- 
ined to make the most of every load in his revolver. 

All the rest of the meadow having been gone over 
minutely without success, the men were now slowly 
returning along the margin of the stream to the 



242 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

spot where they had detected the knee prints; and 
as they advanced, they were whipping and kicking 
up the adjacent growth of weeds and grasses and 
peering among the twigs of every branch. 

In a few minutes, they had reached the place 
where the scout lay in hiding; and he could hear 
their oaths of disappointment uttered almost di- 
rectly at his elbow. He grasped his cocked weapon 
more firmly, and as he did so, a hand was thrust 
forward to draw the curtain away; he could see the 
fingers that were about to expose his body; he 
gently raised the pistol sufficiently to get it in range 
to fire, and at once had the heart of his adversary 
practically at its muzzle; the next instant there 
would be an explosion, and several men were cer- 
tain to fall before he himself should be killed. 
Then, as suddenly as it was advanced, the hand 
was taken away, and the tops of the weeds and 
grasses swung back to their natural position. 

But was the scout saved? Might he not have 
been seen? And this withdrawal of the hand, might 
it not have been a ruse to secure first the coopera- 
tion of all the pursuers for the capture or destruc- 
tion of the pursued? For a few minutes, he was in 
suspense in spite of the exclamations of chagrin 
and disgust which he overheard; and then the men 
began to disperse again in the continuation of their 
search. 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 243 

Throughout the remainder of the afternoon, 
Stringfellow caught from his hiding place the distant 
cries and calls of his enemies. He did not venture 
to move until night had fallen. Passing the line of 
Federal pickets under the cover of darkness, he made 
his way back safely to the Confederate headquarters, 
which he reached at dawn. 

It was in the course of the same year that a 
second incident occurred in the life of Stringfellow 
which brought him quite as near to a fatal ending 
of his career as the one already related. During 
the summer of 1863, large detachments of Federal 
troops were scouring all that region which lay just 
north of the upper tributaries of the Rappahannock. 
This country, as we have seen, was precisely suited 
to the furtive excursions of small partisan bands, 
and it was equally so to the secret operations of 
roving scouts. Stringfellow, by his boldness and 
success, was quite as well known to the Federals as 
Mosby himself, and it was with a feeling of great 
satisfaction that the information was received by a 
certain Colonel of Federal pickets that, at that very 
hour, he was unsuspiciously enjoying the hospitality 
of a family with Southern sympathies, whose home 
was situated not very far from camp. 

The report was really true. The scout, knowing 
this family well, and anxious to obtain a brief rest 
and some diversion from the hard conditions of his 



244 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

calling, had gone to their house, indifferent to the 
risk of detection to which he was aware he would 
be exposed. It was not often that, in his hurried 
expeditions about the country, he had the oppor- 
tunity of conversing at ease with these friends under 
their own roof and partaking of such an excellent 
supper as he was sure would be set before him in 
the well-remembered dining-room. He was unable 
to resist the temptation, and he boldly defied the 
dangers. 

The meal was over and the scout was seated with 
the family, without a thought at the moment of 
taking either himself or his horse away from quar- 
ters of such unusual comfort and plenty; but even 
in that hour of social relaxation, he had not for- 
gotten to keep his pistol ready to his hand in the 
belt around his waist. In the midst of the lively 
talk that was going on, his ears, ever alert to catch 
suspicious sounds, heard the clatter of approaching 
hoofs. He at once arose and cautiously went to 
the window to look out on the road. There he saw, 
as far as he could make out in the darkness, what 
appeared to be a large body of Federal cavalry, dis- 
patched, he had no doubt, to apprehend him; and 
as the house would be at once encircled by the 
troopers, there seemed to be no hope of escape. 

He had hardly turned away before a knocking 
at the door began and there was heard a loud cry 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 245 

for admission, mingled with the sound of the foot- 
steps of the numerous cavalrjmen who had dis- 
mounted in front of the building. Calmly telling 
his friends that he was surrounded, but that he in- 
tended to fight his way out, since a price had been 
set on his head by the enemy, he was about to 
make his way to the back door to carry out his 
purpose when the lady of the house hastily ex- 
claimed: 

"Stop, stop, we can hide you in the garret." 
One member of the family ran to the window and 
called out "Who's there," while another rushed to 
the rear of the house and locked the back door. A 
third hurried the scout to the stairway that as- 
cended from the hall. Before they could reach the 
second floor, a loud explosion shook the building, — 
a dozen carbines had been fired at the front-door, 
and the balls had whistled about the ladies and 
buried themselves in the opposite wall. A resound- 
ing shout followed, and almost at once too the 
crash of shoulders thrown heavily against the door 
was heard. 

But before an entrance could be thus forced, the 
scout and his companion had mounted to the garret. 
As the former looked around the empty apartment, 
with its bare, unplastered walls, he could not see a 
single nook or cranny where his body could be 
squeezed out of sight. There was no ceiling. Two 



246 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

beams ran across overhead, and resting on these 
were several wide planks not nailed down. The 
young lady pointed to them, and in a whisper, 
told him to raise himself up to one of them and to 
lie at full length on it. He quickly swung himself 
on high by leaping up and seizing the nearest beam; 
and having chosen the plank situated next to the 
eaves, lay flat down on it on his stomach. 

The young lady, pausing only one moment to 
ascertain whether his body was entirely invisible to 
any one looking up from below, and seeing that it 
was, quickly left the apparently unoccupied room 
and descended the stairs. Just as she reached the 
ground floor, the Federal troopers burst in the 
front door and poured into the narrow passage. 
The scout, prone on his plank in the dark garret, 
could hear every word spoken below. 

"Madam," demanded the officer at the head of 
the troop, speaking to the lady of the house, "where 
has the guerrilla hidden himself? We have informa- 
tion that he is here." 

"What guerrilla do you mean?" she inquired 
calmly. 

"Stringfellow." 

"Oh, he was here, but he went away some hours 
ago. 

"That's not so," replied the officer angrily and 
threateningly. "You shall not trifle with me. 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 247 

The scoundrel is here this very moment. I shall 
have the house searched from top to bottom. 
Sergeant," he interrupted himself, turning to a 
non-commissioned officer at his elbow, "before we 
go any further, read the orders." 

The sergeant, thus commanded, drew an official 
paper from his pocket and began to read its con- 
tents in a clear voice. Stringfellow and his out- 
rageous exploits was the subject of the proclama- 
tion; he was described as a guerrilla, a bushwhacker, 
and a spy; no shrift whatever was to be shown him 
should he be overtaken; he was to be looked upon 
as an outlaw caught in the very act of committing 
a crime and to be sabred or pistoled on the spot 
without one moment's grace or the smallest atom 
of mercy. Death alone was to be his portion, death 
on the instant. 

It was a terrific indictment which the scout over- 
heard. A summary retribution, a lightning-like pun- 
ishment, was all that he could expect should he 
fall into the power of the enemy. But his spirit 
was not cowed or his courage shaken by the words 
which the sergeant so distinctly recited; he felt for 
the pistols in his belt, which he kept always loaded 
and capped, and placing one on the plank in front 
of him, and holding on to the other, calmly awaited 
whatever fate should have in store for him. 

He had fully mapped out in his own mind what 
he intended to do. It was not likely that more 



248 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

than two men would enter so small a room at once, 
as the presence of more would be certain to hamper 
their movements in an encounter. If his hiding 
place on the plank should happen to be discovered 
by these men, he had determined to fire first from 
above, and then to leap down, pistol in hand, and 
fire a second, a third, a fourth time, should it be 
necessary; and if either or both of the soldiers sur- 
vived the shots, to endeavor, with all his might, to 
hurl him or them headlong down the stairway from 
the open door. There was a wooden projection just 
at this point, and here he would afterwards take 
his stand under cover and empty his revolver in 
the breast of whoever . attempted to ascend the 
steps. Should he succeed in carrying out his plan 
so far, he was confident that the enemy could drive 
him from his position only in two ways, — either by 
burning down the entire house, or by destrojring it 
with the shells of their horse artillery. 

So soon as the sergeant finished reading the pro- 
clamation, a minute search of the premises began. 
First, the ground floor was brought under a care- 
ful examination; dining-room, parlor, hall, kitchen, 
pantry, — all were gone through, until not a corner, 
not a single foot of space in them had escaped the 
scrutiny of the soldiers. Then the second floor, 
where there were numerous bedrooms, closets, and 
passages, was ransacked by them with even greater 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 249 

thoroughness, as if it were possible for a man to 
hide in a crevice with all the ease of a cricket, a 
cockroach, or a mouse. They got down on their 
knees and peered under the beds; they thrust their 
sabres through the sheets, blankets, and mattresses; 
they ran their cutlasses into the dresses hanging up 
in the wardrobes. Not one inch was left unexplored; 
but all to no purpose, — the scout was not to be 
found. The men showed their disappointment by 
rough exclamations even in the presence of the 
women, who had been compelled to accompany 
them in order to hasten and make more easy the 
search. 

Observing the narrow stairway that led up to 
the third floor of the house, the officer asked, in a 
very curt voice, of one of the young ladies* 

*'Is there a room at the top?" 

"Yes, a small garret." 

"Will you show one of my soldiers the way? 
The guerrilla may be hiding there." 

"Your man can ascend without me. The room 
is full of dust that will spoil my dress. I must 
decline to go." 

The officer looked at her for a moment very sus- 
piciously, then turned to a negro girl, one of the 
family servants, who had been carrying around a 
lighted candle while the search was going on, and 
said abruptly and authoritatively: 



250 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"Come, show the soldier the way." 

The girl laughed uneasily and seemed embar- 
rassed. 

"Lors, Marse Cap'en, dar's nubbody up dar sho'," 
she exclaimed. 

"Obey my order," was the stern reply. 

Drawing her dress about her ankles and holding 
the light high up, as if she were about to wade 
through a mass of contaminating mud and wished 
to pick her way as cautiously as possible, the girl 
very slowly and reluctantly ascended the stairway, 
followed by one of the soldiers carrying a cocked 
pistol in his hand. 

The scout had heard from his plank under the 
eaves every word of this conversation with the of- 
ficer, and was not surprised when his ear caught 
the sound of the mounting footfalls, and his eye 
saw through the open door the rays from the candle 
thrown on the railings of the stairway. The next 
minute, the girl reached the top of the steps and 
the duU^ flickering, waving light penetrated to all 
parts of the garret, exposing to half view the bare- 
ness of the walls and the vacancy of the unswept 
floor, and causing the beams and planks to cast 
deep shadows. The young negress, pausing on the 
threshold, with the trooper just behind her, gave an 
exclamation of disgust, while she drew her skirts 
still more closely about her as if to save them from 
the taint of the accumulated dust. 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 251 

"See dar," she said, "dar's nuttin' in dat room 
but dirt. I ain't gwine ter spile my dress in all 
dat dust, dat I ain't." 

The man, with an oath, shoved her forward, and 
both entered the room. As the soldier peered cur- 
iously and not without apprehension around the 
apartment, Stringfellow, looking down with one eye 
through a small hole in the plank on which he lay, 
carefully measured his size and debated in his own 
mind whether it would be wisest to shoot him in 
the head or in the breast. 

Discovery seemed to the scout to be inevitable. 
Here he was only a few feet above the body of his 
adversary; so near, indeed, that he had to hold in 
his breathing to prevent its becoming audible below. 
The slanting of the light, a scrutinizing look from 
the farthest corner of the room, must divulge his 
presence. With both pistols cocked and ready to 
hand, he awaited the moment of detection. At the 
first exclamation from the trooper, he would fire a 
bullet into his head, and leaping to the floor, roll 
the body down the stairway and defy the whole 
troop of armed men to come up. 

While this resolution was flashing through String- 
fellow's mind, the trooper, walking slowly around the 
room, was carefully examining the walls and the 
corners, and here and there stamping on the floor 
to test its solidity; nor did the smallest object 
escape his examination, for he even prodded with 



252 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

his sabre the contents of a box that he found lean- 
ing against one of the partitions. All this while, 
the girl had been standing near the door muttering 
her loathing for the dust and her fear of rats and 
mice. 

Suddenly the man, disappointed in his inspection 
of the floor and walls, turned his gaze towards the 
unceiled roofing, and at once the girl moved for- 
ward and took position with the candle, now burn- 
ing low, directly under the plank on which String- 
fellow was lying. This action threw its shadow 
straight upward. 

Could the scout's body be seen by the trooper? 
For a minute, the latter's eyes were fixed on the 
exact part of the plank where lay the scout, who 
had put his finger on the trigger of his pistol. 
Should he anticipate his enemy's shot and fire at 
once without waiting any longer? He had made up 
his mind to do this when the trooper's intent gaze 
was withdrawn. The girl's ruse had proved suc- 
cessful. Had the shadow of the plank been cast 
sideways against the roof, the outer line of its oc- 
cupant's body would have been seen by the soldier 
below, already suspicious of his foe's presence; and 
a bullet would doubtless have followed immediately. 
With the shadow cast upward, the scout became 
invisible from the same point of view, and the girl 
had possessed the wit to anticipate this fact for his 



ADVENTURES OF A SCOUT 253 

preservation. The man's repeated order to her to 
move the candle this way or that way, as he peered 
upwards into every possible recess, did not influence 
her to alter the slant of the shadow; and finally, 
fully satisfied that there was no one in the room 
but the candle bearer and himself, he turned to- 
wards the door to descend the stairs. 

The scout drew a long breath of relief as he heard 
the footsteps of both passing down to the ground 
floor, where the officer and the rest of the troopers 
were waiting for the searcher's return. Keenly dis- 
appointed by his report, the officer sternly warned 
the lady of the house against offering Stringfellow 
any future entertainment. 

"If the guerrilla is caught here," he said to her, 
"it will be necessary for me to turn your family 
out of doors. We will have to use the severest 
measures to prevent his friends from assisting him 
to our damage. He is one of our most dangerous 
enemies." 

The officer soon mounted his horse, and accom- 
panied by the entire troop, rode away at a gallop; 
but videttes had been left on the front road to 
guard the house. The scout, who descended when 
the sound of voices died out below, looking cau- 
tiously, with the members of the family, through a 
window, could see the uniformed figures in the dark- 
ness, ready to intercept him should it turn out 



254 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

that he had been hidden in the building after all. 
But he was not in the slightest degree disconcerted 
by the sight of them so far as his own chance of 
getting away was concerned; it, however, made it 
inadvisable for him to carry off his horse at that 
time, for to do so would inevitably expose his 
presence to the videttes; who, while they would be 
unable to capture him, would visit the penalty of 
his concealment and escape on the friends who had 
so courageously harbored and saved him by their 
fidelity and shrewdness. 

He determined to leave the house on foot. Hav- 
ing bade a warm and grateful good-bye to his kind 
hostess and her family,- he stole out of the rear 
door, and by creeping along under cover of the 
garden fence and afterwards keeping in the shade 
of a row of trees, he contrived with ease to reach 
the protection of a neighboring forest without hav- 
ing been challenged by the enemy. After an hour's 
tramp in the darkness, he found himself among the 
spurs of the Blue Ridge, and was soon enjoying 
the shelter of a home, the occupants of which were 
known to him as ardent sympathizers with the 
cause of the South. 



CHAPTER XIII 
The Cadets' Baptism of Fire 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 

The most famous military school in the South 
at the beginning of the war was the Virginia Mil- 
itary Institute, situated at Lexington, in the shadow 
of some of the loftiest peaks of the Blue Ridge. 
Here were trained many of the most distinguished 
officers of the Confederate armies. Throughout the 
great conflict, the cadets pursued their studies, but 
not infrequently, the sound of the guns broke in 
on the routine of their duties and aroused their 
gallant young souls to all the martial enthusiasm 
of veterans. 

Down to the Battle of Newmarket, in the spring 
of 1864, where they received their baptism of fire, 
the battalion had not taken any part in a real fight, 
but they had been engaged in several unimportant 
military operations, such as the McDowell cam- 
paign in 1862, and the expeditions to drive off the 
raiding cavalrymen of Averill. If they were as yet 
ignorant of the sensation caused by the actual im- 
pact of musket balls and fragments of shrapnel, 
still they had been fully tested by the fatigue of 
long marches and by exposure to the roughest 
weather at all seasons. They too had bivouacked 



258 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

under the trees at night; had slept in their blank- 
ets; and had hungrily eaten food cooked at the 
camp fires. But none of them yet could point to 
the scars of wounds received in actual battle, or 
could drink to the memories of comrades who had 
fallen in the ranks at their side under the fusillades 
of the enemy. And until this, the true soldier's 
record in the field had been achieved, they refused 
to remain entirely satisfied with the peace of their 
barracks and recitation halls, although that peace 
might be varied at intervals by military tramps about 
the mountains in search of deserters or along the 
trail of retreating Federal troopers. 

It was the experience pf real warfare, with all its 
blood and glory, that they thirsted for; and so ir- 
resistible did this desire become, that, on one oc- 
casion, they assembled with great solemnity and 
drew up a formal resolution offering their services 
as a unit to General Lee. 

Throughout the winter of 1863-64, they had found 
it especially difficult to restrain their martial spirit. 
The cavalry brigade of General Rosser, one of the 
most brilliant officers in this arm of the service, 
had been stationed in the vicinity of Lexington 
during that winter. His weatherbeaten and war- 
scarred veterans in uniform were to be seen at all 
hours about the grounds of the Institute, where 
they mingled with the admiring boys and stimu- 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 259 

lated their youthful ardor by tales of adventure on 
the march and in the charge. And this ardor had 
been further influenced by the gift of a flag, rent 
and blackened, which had been wrested from the 
standard bearer of the enemy in the midst of the 
foaming turmoil of battle. 

The spirits of the young battalion were at once 
depressed and lifted up a short time later as they 
looked on the long procession of seasoned cavalrymen 
passing through the precincts of the Institute, on 
their return to the front, with their flags flying, 
and their pennons fluttering, in the mountain breeze 
and then* sabres and accoutrements flashing in the 
sunlight. No wonder that some of the boys could 
not repress their warlike ambitions any longer, but 
must at once sever their connection with the place 
and follow in the track of the gallant cavaliers who 
had ridden away on that memorable morning. But 
it would not be long now before every member of 
the battalion would have an opportunity to receive 
that baptism of fire for which aU appeared to be 
yearning. 

In the spring of 1864, General Sigel was ordered 
by General Grant, who had taken personal com- 
mand of the Federal armies in Virginia, to march 
up the Valley, and to hold it firmly as he proceeded, 
as the only means of preventing its further use as 
a granary by the Confederates. Sigel set his troops. 



260 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

twenty- five thousand in number, in motion on May 
1st, wnth Staunton in view as his first important 
objective. The only force which could be brought 
forwai'd promptly, in the hope of staying his prog- 
ress, was a deta,clmient of tlu'ee thousand men under 
General Imboden. 

The report spread that the Federals were steadily 
advancing, and the cadets, knowing that the Insti- 
tute would certainly be invaded in the end, should 
Sigel not be stopped, became more eager than ever 
to take the field. At this time, the battalion con- 
sisted of two hundred and eighty boys, all of whom, 
with the exception of about thiity, who would be 
left to guard the buildings, could be at once detailed 
for militai'y duty. The conmiand w^as already or- 
ganized into a corps of fom* companies, supported 
by one section of ai'tillery, and possessing tlie neces- 
sary quantity of ammunition, tents, knapsacks, 
picks, and shovels. General Smith, the Superin- 
tendent, in a letter dated May 2d, to General 
Breckenridge, who had been placed at the head of 
all the Confederate troops in the Valley, offered 
theu* services for any line of duty to whicli they 
might be assigned; but the only purpose to which 
Breckenridge, in his acceptance, seems to have ex- 
pected at first to devote them was the old one of 
"assisting m repelling or capturing the destructive 
raiding parties," who would soon be operating in 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FTRE 261 

many parts of that region. The commanding gen- 
eral evidently thought that the cadets were too 
young and inexperienced to be attached at once to 
his main force; but the events of the next few days, 
and the military necessities of his own position, 
completely altered his opinion. 

On May 4th, anticipating a rapid advance by 
Sigel in spite of Imboden's opposition, he hurried 
to Staunton at the head of four thousand men; 
but it was not until six days later that the Federal 
General arrived in Woodstock many miles away, 
his progress having slowed down. Nevertheless, 
Breckenridge now decided to summon the battalion 
of cadets to join his army at once, as he con- 
sidered it likely that small Federal detachments 
would be sent forward to harry the inhabitants of 
the middle Valley. 

The night the order arrived at the Institute, the 
long roll was sounded; but as that roll had, during 
recent months, turned out several times to mean 
nothing beyond the common, the boys made their 
way in the darkness to the rendezvous, with only 
a vague hope of hearing that they were to join 
immediately the army posted at Staunton. But if 
there was any listlessness among them from previous 
disappointment, it was completely shaken out of 
them by the words of the orders which their Adju- 
tant, surrounded by the other officers, read out by 



262 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

the light of a lantern. The announcement that, 
under the trusted leadership of its Commandant, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Shipp, the battalion was 
to leave next morning to reinforce General Breck- 
enridge, was received with a rousing hurrah from 
youthful throats that startled the silence of the 
neighboring hills. 

The cadets breakfasted by candle-light the fol- 
lowing morning, and then each one, bearing a can- 
teen, haversack, and blanket, fell into rank, the 
bugle soxmded, and accompanied by their battery 
they set out, with a steady and uniform swing, 
upon the march to Staunton. One part of their 
exercises in the Institute- had been to tramp about 
that rough mountam region, and they were thor- 
oughly hardened to the kind of tax which was now 
about to be put upon their powers of endurance. 
Raising a cheer as they looked back from a height 
and got their last view of the turrets of their familiar 
and well-beloved barracks, they turned again to 
continue their march, with spirits as lively and 
steps as elastic as before. Along the country road 
they advanced all the rest of that day, camping 
out at night; and the following afternoon, they 
entered the streets of Staunton, as fresh as sanguine 
minds and youthful limbs could make them. They 
must have felt like veterans as they listened to 
their band responding to the plaudits of the young 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 263 

ladies in a school, under the windows of which they 
were passing, with the strain, associated with so 
many wars, of "The Girl I Left Behind Me." 

That afternoon, when their dress parade was held 
in the camp where they stacked their arms, the 
inhabitants of the town came out apparently en 
masse to watch the review and to admire the boys 
in their trim uniforms; and at the dance to which 
they were invited the same night, they threw the 
older officers in the shade by their popularity with 
the ladies. No one would have thought from the 
gayety of their bearing on that occasion that they 
had halted in town only for a few hours before 
taking up the march for the first battlefield of their 
lives. To every one of them, indeed, it was to 
prove another ball before Waterloo. 

In the midst of all this civilian applause, was it 
likely that they would grow indignant because the 
veteran troops broke out, as they swung by in their 
natty gray coats and bright buttons, with the song 
"Rock a Bye Baby"? 

Couriers having brought in the news that Sigel 
had left Woodstock and was advancing up the Shen- 
andoah, Breckenridge, as brave a soldier as ever 
unsheathed a sword, determined, in spite of the 
disparity between their respective forces, to go for- 
ward and attack him as soon as he could come up 
with him. As his army marched along the road 



264 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

that ran towards Newmarket, where Sigel had ar- 
rived, it was strung out in a formidable procession, 
headed by Echols's brigade, which was followed in 
turn by Wharton's, the battalion of cadets, the 
artillery, and the wagon train. The battahon had 
not yet gone through their baptism of fire, which 
alone would have entitled them to the post of honor 
and danger in front. 

The army, by the second night, had passed 
through Harrisonburg and crossed the borders of 
Shenandoah county. There was now one very 
conspicuous sign to indicate that they had arrived 
in a country which had been alarmed by incursions 
of the enemy, — people were met all along the turn- 
pike flying with their families, household goods, 
horses and cattle to a place of safety. Confederate 
cavalrymen, belonging to Imboden's small detach- 
ment, came up with prisoners who had been cap- 
tured in brushes with Sigel's vanguard. That 
night when the troops halted, the cadets could see 
at a distance the bivouac fires which had been 
lighted by the pickets and skirmishers who formed 
the advanced posts of either side. They did not 
raise any tents to protect themselves from the rain 
that was now falling, but, with the cheerfulness 
which distinguished them on their ordinary marches, 
threw themselves down on the ground to sleep in 
their blankets until the order to rise should be 
called out in the morning. 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 265 

Imboden had been enjoined by General Brecken- 
ridge to fall back before Sigel and to take position 
on the strong line of hills south of the town of New- 
market, in the hope that he might lure the enemy 
to attack him there; but all his efforts to bring 
this about proved in vain. When Breckenridge 
found that his opponents continued immovable, he 
decided to push boldly up and rush the Federal 
position in spite of its formidable character; and 
with this advance in view, he sent an order to his 
main army to hasten forward to join him. The 
courier who brought these instructions to the several 
officers reached Colonel Shipp, in command of the 
cadets, late at night. At once, they were aroused 
by word of mouth, as no drum was allowed to be 
beaten and no call of the bugle to be sounded. 

Before the youthful battalion fell in, a prayer was 
delivered by Captain Preston, who had lost an arm 
at the Battle of Winchester, and who, though still 
a young man, had been serving as a sub-professor 
at the Institute. Here, in the presence of those 
listening boys, under the broad canopy of the night 
sky studded with its myriads of sentinel fires, he 
appealed to the God of Battles in behalf of the 
youthful soldiers; spoke of the homes and parents 
they had left behind; of the country whose cause 
they were about to support so bravely; of the issues 
of the battlefield, victory or defeat; and of the fate 
that might overtake each one of them in the great 



266 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

crisis now so close at hand. As soon as this elo- 
quent prayer was finished, the mai'ch began in 
silence, and when the sky indicated tlie approach of 
dawTi they had passed over tlie greater part of the 
ground to be traversed. 

As they were swinging along the road in buoyant 
spirits, they caine up with Wliai'ton's brigade of 
veterans, who at once stai'ted to flash their wit at 
the expense of the boys when the battalion halted 
near them for a short rest. One of the soldiers, 
with a pair of shears, moving up and dowTi their 
ranks, asserted his readiness to cut off love locks to 
be sent home as souvenii*s of those who were about 
to fall on the field of battle; while another, drawing 
a moui'iiful face, suggested that ordei*s sliould now 
be left for coffins, with the names to be engi*aved 
on the plates. The cadets took tliese ghastly jokes 
in the hmnor in whicli tliey were uttered, and re- 
sumed tJieir march with no damper on their spu'its. 

Newmarket, their objective, was situated directly 
on the turnpike from Staunton. West of the town, 
the land gradually swelled until it looked down in 
the form of high bluffs on the rushing waters of the 
North Fork of the Shenandoali. Inmiediately to- 
wai'ds the north, behind the town, the country rose 
to a height known as Bushong's Hill, while towards 
the east a terrain of marshes and woodlands cul- 
minated in the long and lofty Massanutten mount- 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 267 

ains. Towards the south, there stood Shirley's 
Hill, the long northern slope of which gradually 
sank down almost to the borders of the town. The 
surrounding country was, for the most part, com- 
posed of pastures and wheatfields, divided one from 
another by fences and stone walls; but between 
Shirley's Hill and Bushong's Hill, and not far fi-om 
one side of Newmarket itself, there ran a shallow 
ravine, which broke the general uniformity of this 
part of the landscape. 

When the battalion reached the vicinity of New- 
market, they deployed behind the screen of Shirley 
Hill, on the crest of which the Confederate pickets 
could be seen, and then advanced to occupy the 
ground assigned them in the arrangements for the 
impending battle. This was at the extreme left of 
the line, where they were still concealed from the 
view of the enemy. While they were taking posi- 
tion, Breckenridge and his staff rode by. The Gen- 
eral, a man six feet tall, and strikingly handsome 
and soldierly in appearance, a superb horseman, 
and mounted on a noble thoroughbred, seemed to 
the cheering boys to be the very God of War. 

A heavy bombardment was now going on from 
a Federal battery stationed in a Lutheran church- 
yard situated just back of the town. The shells 
passed over the heads of the Federal infantry and 
fell in front of the advancing Confederates. It 



268 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

was against this battery that the cadets' first par- 
ticipation in the battle occurred. McLaughlin's 
artillery, from the meadows near the turnpike, was 
at the time vigorously replying in support of one 
of the Confederate brigades which was driving in 
the Federal skirmishers. The battalion's battery 
galloped down the turnpike, swerved to the left, 
and taking a strong position on the slope of Shir- 
ley's Hill, in front of the cadets in line, opened in 
its turn a rapid and effective fire on the Federal 
guns. The town soon became wrapped in cannon 
smoke and the intervening space alive with burst- 
ing shrapnel. 

While all this was happening, the cadets had re- 
ceived orders to cast aside their knapsacks and 
blankets and to hold their muskets and cartridge 
boxes in readiness for immediate use. Unconsciously, 
the boys tightened their belts to ease their move- 
ments when the word to advance should ring out. 
They were not yet directly under fire, but Federal 
shells, striking the ground on the hill-crest above 
them, bounded and rebounded by their flank. 

In a short time, the Federal battery stationed in 
the churchyard back of the town, which had been 
hurling these shells, was compelled to retreat to a 
higher point in the rear. After a fight in the 
streets and in the immediate environs of New- 
market, all the Federal forces, which had, in the 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 269 

meanwhile, been reinforced, were drawn back by 
General Sigel to a second line that rested in part 
on the brow of Bushong Hill. 

Between one and two o'clock in the afternoon, 
the Confederates received the order to attack. The 
cadet battalion, which had up to this time been 
held in reserve, — their artillery section alone having 
so far had any part in the fight, — were now com- 
manded to take position in the immediate rear of 
the advancing brigades of veterans, which soon 
brought them under fire. Their first intimation of 
the movement required of them came in the ringing 
words from Colonel Shipp, "Attention, Battalion, 
Forward." The sergeant-major, as if the corps was 
engaged in a dress parade, rushed forty paces in 
front of it, and had to be made to return to his 
place on the left of the line. The tall color-bearer 
shook out the broad folds of his flag to the breeze, 
and the whole battalion ascended to the crest of 
the hill with as much calmness and precision as if 
they were marching forward on the parade ground 
at Lexington. 

So soon as they passed the hill-top, they came 
in full range of the Federal guns north of the town. 
Not pausing a moment, they followed the example 
of the veteran brigade on their right front and 
moved down the slope at double time. They were 
now going at a long trot, and before they had cov- 



270 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

ered many yards, a shell burst just ahead of their 
line, striking with its fragments four of the cadets, 
who fell to the ground severely woimded. All this 
while, the brigades of veterans forward and the 
cadets in the rear were supported by McLaughlin's 
battery of fourteen pieces advancing on their right 
along the turnpike and stopping here and there to 
bombard the town and the Federal positions in its 
rear. 

The new Federal line extended across Bushong's 
Hill, towards the right, as far as the bluff on the 
Shenandoah river; while towards the left, it reached 
as far as the turnpike, on which side it was pro- 
tected by cedar thickets, and woods that spread to 
the base of the Massanutten moimtains. Four 
hundred yards in front of this strongly posted array 
of men. General Sigel had stationed two regiments, 
one of which, — that on the left, — ^rested on the turn- 
pike; the other, — that on the right, — ^both being in 
line, joined hands with Von Kleiser's Battery. 
There was thus a formidable advance force to over- 
come before the Federal positions behind could be 
assaulted. 

The first success of the Confederates was won by 
Imboden's troopers, who, with four pieces, pushed 
close up to the flank of the Federal left wing and 
compelled the Federal cavalry in that part of the 
field to retreat. The guns then opened up a very 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 271 

effective fire on Von Kleiser's battery in spite of 
the long intervening distance. Soon the Confed- 
erate brigades, moving towards the enemy's centre, 
struck this battery and also the two regiments 
which had been thrown out along with it in front 
of the main line, and quickly forced both the in- 
fantry and the guns to draw back in confusion. In 
a short while, the Confederates had crossed the 
abandoned positions and were approaching the slope 
of Bushong's Hill, the key to the main line itself. 

While the Confederate van, composed of the 
veteran soldiers, were driving the Federal forward 
line back, the cadet battalion in the rear had left 
the northern side of Shirley's Hill behind and had 
passed under the cover of the ravine which lay 
between the town and the Shenandoah river. Here 
they halted in order to get ready to take part in 
the assault which was soon to begin on the enemy's 
central position in the second line. They threw off 
all unnecessary equipment and filled their canteens 
with fresh water from the stream that poured 
through the hollow. 

When the final advance of the whole Confederate 
army began, the troops on the left and in the right 
centre, meeting, after they had gone a considerable 
distance, with a firm resistance from the Federal 
sharpshooters and batteries, were compelled to stop 
and to take temporary shelter behind whatever cover 



272 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

the ground afforded. It was a very critical moment. 
The Confederate army had been checked, and in 
some places was even falling back, while the enemy 
were not perceptibly shaken, and were perhaps 
getting ready to complete the Confederate discom- 
fiture by a charge against their ranks. It was at 
this juncture, when the issue of the fight was waver- 
ing in the balance and the chances for their side 
were apparently diminishing, that the cadet bat- 
talion advanced for the first time to the very front 
of the battle. They took position in a gap which 
lay between two of the regiments of veterans. As 
they came up, they maintained their line with all 
the exactness of a dress .parade. It was noticed by 
those who were looking on at this splendid spectacle 
that, in crossing a muddy field, which was of a 
character to create some confusion among them, the 
wings swung forward more rapidly than the centre, 
causing a slight curve in the line at first. Although 
the cadets were now marching under a heavy artil- 
lery fire from the Federal batteries on the heights 
in front, the officers were able to straighten the line 
with as little difficulty as if the advance had been 
in an ordinary field drill; and the battalion pro- 
ceeded in the same exact order as before. 

It was half a mile from the ravine to the Bushong 
House, the first objective for which they were mak- 
ing. This house stood just at the northern edge of 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 273 

the muddy field through which they were now pass- 
ing. Behind it was an orchard, and back of this 
orchard was a wheatfield which fronted the Fed- 
eral main position. The whole formed the slope 
and top of Bushong's Hill. When the cadet bat- 
talion reached the house, they divided with the same 
quiet precision as if they were about to move 
around some obstacle on their parade ground, and 
came together again behind it without the slightest 
confusion. 

The strongest of all the Federal positions on the 
second line to which Sigel had retreated was, as we 
have seen, the one that directly faced these youth- 
ful and untried soldiers so soon as they passed 
around Bushong House. If that portion could be 
forced, the key to success had been gained. The 
Federal commander had brought up Von Kleiser's 
battery, driven back from the first line, and posted 
it on the hill. Hardly had the cadets come in sight 
from behind the house when they were exposed to 
the concentrated fire of several batteries which had 
an unobstructed view of them from above. The 
attention of Von Kleiser's guns was temporarily 
diverted by the assault of a company of Missourians, 
but before the battalion could reach the northern 
boundary of the orchard, this battery also was hurl- 
ing its shells into their midst. 

Should they leave the orchard and enter the 
wheatfield that spread straight up to the position 



274 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

occupied by Von Kleiser? It began to look as if 
few of the cadets would escape death or wounds. 
Already the trees in the orchard were being smashed 
to fragments by the cannon balls. Colonel Shipp 
was struck and fell severely stunned and bleeding 
to the ground. A moment of confusion followed. 
An order passed along the ranks to lie down; all did 
so, except the ensign, who stood upright wa^ing his 
flag; and the battalion then began firing under the 
protection of a worm fence which ran along the 
northern boundary of the orchai'd. But the return 
fire of the enemy was so hea\'y and accurate that 
the cry went up: "Fall back and rally on Edgar's 
battalion." It was a critical moment. Some of 
the cadets were about to rise to obey, when a first 
sergeant, Pizzini by name, a Corsican by blood, 
cocked his rifle and shouted out that he would 
shoot down the first man who did so. Captain 
Preston, smilingly resting on his single arm, said 
that that arm at least he must save. Another Cap- 
tain, Colonna, spoke encouragingly to the members 
of his company and directed them to aim coolly and 
accurately at the enemy. 

The first effect of the battalion holding their posi- 
tion was that it relieved the veteran troops on their 
left from the converging fire of the Federal batteries, 
and thus gave them the time to reform before re- 
newing the ficrht ^^ith the hostile forces which those 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 275 

batteries were supporting. But before they were 
ready to advance, General Sigel made an effort to 
launch a counter-attack. Only one regiment, how- 
ever, pressed forward to a considerable distance; 
this was the 34th Massachusetts, which charged 
almost up to the fence of the orchard where the 
cadets had halted. Had the latter previously re- 
tired from this position, there would have been a 
gap in the Confederate line at this vital point; the 
Federal troops would have rushed through; and the 
whole Confederate army would have been com- 
pelled to fall back in disorder. 

The tide of battle, which had been running against 
the Confederates, now suddenly turned. The veter- 
ans on the right of the cadets were strongly rein- 
forced; the whole line was firmly reestablished; and 
an advance was sounded. Colonel Shipp having 
been disabled, as already mentioned, the battalion 
was now under the command of their captains. As 
the order to advance rang out, they leaped up to 
perform their part in the forward movement. The 
Federal right had, by this time, been flanked, and 
the batteries stationed on that part of the Federal 
line were in retreat. The Federal left had also been 
driven back. The whole Federal front from one 
end to the other was soon more or less shaken, but 
this did not diminish the fire of the Federal battery 
that looked directly down on the cadets as they 
passed across the orchard fence and entered the 



276 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

field tliat led up to the top of Bushong's Hill, on 
which that battery was posted. 

Not long before this final advance began, a black 
cloud, pregnant with rain, which had been hanging 
over the field, bui'st in a teiTific downpour. The 
sheet formed by this deluge, together with the 
smoke from tlie Federal batteries, made the air so 
murlcA' that it was difficult for the eye to distin- 
guish objects some distance ahead. The sliells from 
the battery at the top of the hill had not only to 
be accurately du'ected through this half darkness, 
but had also to stand a fm'ther chance of deflection 
by their downward plunge; but m spite of tliese 
hampering influences, tlieii* couree was sufficiently 
pi*ecise to make the chai'ge of the cadets up to the 
muzzles of the guns full of flaming peril to all who 
were pai'ticipating m it. As they advanced, the 
Federal batterj* continued to play upon their line. 
But the battalion did nor halt. 

The Federal gunners now began to ram in the 
shot without ushig their sponges at all, and the six 
pieces of artillery in use were worked to their ut- 
most capacity*. Still there was no sign of disnifh 
tion in the line below; here and there, a youthful 
soldier dropped in his tracks: but the gap was 
quickly closed up and his comi'ades came on as 
tiniily and steadily as before. The advance, which 
had started with a quiet step, had soon increased 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 277 

to a double time, and this at the close had been 
accelerated to a run. 

The Federal gunners, perceiving that they were 
about to be surrounded and captured, stopped theii* 
fire at the last moment and succeeded in getting 
away with foui' of the pieces; the remaining two 
were promptly seized by the battalion. The color 
sergeant, Evans, leaped upon the caisson of one of 
these and wildly waved his flag in tiimnph. 

TMiile the cadets were taking possession of the 
guns, Federal ti'oops, stationed on their right flank 
in a gully, opened a sharp fusillade on them. The 
cadets quickly reformed, and wheeling to the right, 
in theii* tui'n opened an equally shaip fusillade on 
the enemy, and advancing, di'ove them from the 
cover of the thickets lying between the spot where 
the battery had been posted and the tui'npike on 
the eastern side of the battle field. When they 
finally halted, the whole body of the Federal army 
had retreated towai'ds the north, followed by the 
Confederate infantry and cavahy. The last shot 
of the cadet battalion, like then- first, was deUvered 
by their artillery, which now galloped to the top of 
the neai'est hill and hurled numerous shells in the 
rear of the retii'ing foe. The fight was finished, 
and the movement of the Federal forces in the 
Valley, which had given General Lee at Peters- 
burg serious uneasiness for the time being, was 
completely fiiistrated. 



278 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

That night, the cadets bivouacked in the imme- 
diate neighborhood of the veteran brigades, by whom 
they were now treated with all the respect to which 
soldiers who had seen real service were entitled. 
Indeed, all now fraternized on equal terms. 

Among the prisoners who were brought into camp 
was a German soldier, who spoke only imperfect 
English. 

"Dem leetle tevils mit der vite vlag," said he 
ruefully as he pointed to the cadets, "vas doo 
mutch for us. Dey shoost smash mine head ven I 
vas cry zurrender all de dime." 

The flag of the battalion, borne aloft throughout 
the battle, was the one which they always used in 
their parades at Lexington, and was distinguished 
by a white and gold ground, with a picture of Wash- 
ington worked into the centre. 

It was asserted at the time that General Brecken- 
ridge's Chief of Staff had said to the cadets at the 
end of the fight: 

"Young gentlemen, the Commander has you to 
thank for the day's operations." 

But whether this report was correct or not, it is 
certain that General Breckenridge himself, on num- 
erous after occasions, expressed the conviction that 
the battalion "had exercised a decisive influence in 
winning the victory." And this opinion seems to 
have been justified by at least three events that 
occurred on that memorable day. First, the bat- 



THE CADETS' BAPTISM OF FIRE 279 

talion had come forward at a critical stage in the 
course of the fight and filled up a very alarming 
gap in the Confederate line just where it faced the 
strongest position occupied by the Federal troops. 
And secondly, they had held their ground with con- 
spicuous firmness exactly at the moment when con- 
fusion was beginning to arise among the Confeder- 
ate forces stationed on their right, and this tenacity 
gave those forces an interval in which to restore 
order and reform. And, lastly, they had repelled 
the counter charge of a Federal regiment, which, 
but for their presence at that point, and their ability 
to resist its onset, would very probably have broken 
through the Confederate line and compelled that line 
to fall back in a disastrous retreat. 

Five members of the battalion were killed out- 
right; four additional died afterwards of their 
wounds; while forty-eight received wounds from 
which they recovered. At least one-fifth of the 
entire command were disabled. 

A very distinguished survivor of the battalion has 
recorded that, when the men to whom had been 
assigned the duty of taking up the bodies of the 
soldiers who fell in the battle, went over the field 
where these boys, — for their average age did not 
exceed seventeen and a half years, — had been 
brought under the most galling fire, "they found 
one wearing the chevrons of a first sergeant lying 
on his face, stiff and stark, with outstretched arms. 



280 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

The next one lay as if asleep; a little fellow, who had 
torn open his jacket and shirt, and even in death, 
lay clutching them back, exposing a fair white 
breast, with its red wound." And not far from 
him was the body of a third, who, the night before, 
had confided to a comrade his feeling of certainty 
that he was destined to meet a soldier's death. One 
after another they were tenderly lifted and placed 
on a limber chest and thus carried back to the town, 
where they were buried with all those military hon- 
ors which the young heroes had won by the intre- 
pidity of their conduct and the sacrifice of their lives. 
When the war had come to an end, their remains 
were exhumed and reverently conveyed to Lexing- 
ton, and there reburied in the cadets' cemetery, 
overshadowed by noble oaks, and situated in sight 
of the Institute where they had received their mil- 
itary training. And a second time, their bodies 
were removed to a new resting place. They were 
now buried in the parade ground under the beauti- 
ful statue, "Virginia Mourning Her Dead," the 
work of one who, as a cadet, had been their com- 
rade in the fight. On the anniversary of the Battle 
of Newmarket, this statue is decorated as a tribute 
to their memories, and when the roll is called on 
that day, their names are always included, and as 
each name is uttered, a cadet steps forward from 
the ranks and responds: "Dead on the Field of 
Honor, Sir." 



CnAPTER XIV 

The J)asli on JiMllIiuorc 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE DASH ON BALTIMORE 

Among the most hazardous and impetuous ad- 
ventures that occurred during the war was the raid 
which Major Harry Gilmor, in July, 1864, at the 
head of a small company, led to the very envu*ons 
of the city of Baltimore, which lay at this time far 
within the enemy's territory and on their principal 
line of supply between the North and Washington. 
The railroad which passed through Baltimore from 
Philadelphia had probably transported more troops 
to the Federal armies in Virginia than any railway 
in the United States, and it was guarded by the 
Federal authorities with sleepless vigilance. To cut 
this highway even for a short distance would ser- 
iously embarrass the Federal plans for reinforcing 
General Grant, and also might weaken the defenses 
of the capital. Both of these consummations were, 
from the Confederate point of view, very desirable 
at this time, when General Lee was with difficulty 
holdmg back the Federal forces in front of Peters- 
burg, and General Early had crossed the Potomac 
and was moving towards Washington. 

Major Gilmor, who undertook to strike this blow 
at the Federal communications far in the rear of 



284 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

actual fighting, enjoyed a reputation for daring hardly- 
second to that of Colonel Mosby himself; and this 
new enterprise was not surpassed in its chances of 
personal peril by any of the ones in which he had 
previously been constantly engaged. He possessed 
but a single advantage in carrying it out, and this 
might, at any time, become a great disadvantage; 
— the region through which he intended to advance 
had been well known to him down to its minutest 
features from boyhood, for it was the region where 
he had been born and reared; but this very fact, 
although it might increase his safety during the 
raid by furnishing him with assistance of local 
friends, might also increase his danger by the prob- 
ability of his instant recognition by persons who 
were hostile to his cause, and ready to inform the 
authorities of his presence before report had dis- 
closed it. 

But the prospect of being aided by friends and 
harmed by enemies among his acquaintances in the 
dash which he was now about to make did not in- 
fluence Major Gilmor in the smallest degree. His 
design was to tear up the track and burn important 
bridges on the Philadelphia and Baltimore Railway; 
and that purpose he set out, with all the energy 
and intrepidity for which he was famous, to carry 
into effect. 

Although, during the first part of the raid, he was 
followed at a considerable distance by General 



THE DASH ON BALTIMORE 285 

Bradley Johnson's brigade, to which he belonged, 
yet this brigade furnished no support until on the 
point of leaving him. He and his squad of twenty 
men rode many miles ahead of this body, and even 
during the short time it was following them, they 
were pursuing an independent enterprise. 

When the squad started, they left the brigade at 
a sharp gallop, which brought them by sunset to 
the town of Westminster. They had learned some- 
time before arriving there that it was occupied by a 
large force of the enemy, but instead of this fact 
causing them to make a detour, it seemed to arouse 
a reckless spirit in their breasts, for, closing up 
their ranks and drawing their sabres, they charged 
pell mell down the main street while they made the 
sky ring with their yells. The Federal soldiers 
posted in the town, aware that these horsemen 
were merely the precursors of the large body of 
infantry who were following, fired a few shots at 
the wild troopers as they came on and then re- 
tired in haste to cover. So great was the speed of 
the hostile squad that none of the shots hit their 
flying mark. There were many citizens of West- 
minster who sympathized ardently with the Southern 
cause, and as the Confederate raiders swept past, 
with shouts and hurrahs, handkerchiefs were waved 
from numerous windows and responsive cheers were 
heard above the clatter of hoofs, the yells of defi- 
ance, and the explosion of numerous guns and pis- 
tols. 



286 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

That night, Gihnor decided to remain in the 
neighborhood of the town, as the main body of the 
Federal forces, apprehensive less they might soon be 
cut off by Johnson's brigade, had retreated with pre- 
cipitation along the first road that led to Washing- 
ton. He, however, took the precaution to sever all 
the telegraph wires by which Federal reinforcements 
might be summoned; and he also threw out pickets 
to prevent a surprise. 

The next morning, at an early hour, he started 
again at the head of his refreshed company. His 
first objective now was the line of the Northern 
Central Railway, which formed the principal high- 
way for the transportation of Federal troops and 
supplies from Harrisburg. This he intended to dis- 
rupt by destroying the track for some distance and 
by setting the torch to the bridges. He had now 
entered a region of country with which he was 
familiar and where he knew many persons of im- 
portance; but as he rode ahead of his men, mounted 
on a spirited black charger, he was taken by most 
of the citizens to be a Federal officer, as it was not 
conceivable that any Confederate force could have 
penitrated so far behind the Federal lines. Cross- 
ing the Northern Central Railway at Cockeysville, 
he set fire to the bridge which spanned the Gun- 
powder river nearby. Baltimore was situated only 
fifteen miles away. 



THE DASH ON BALTIMORE 287 

The brigade, which had been following in his track 
at a distance, came up with him here, but almost 
immediately turned back, with the intention of re- 
joining General Early. General Bradley Johnson, 
its commander, considered it unwise to risk his 
artillery by moving farther towards Baltimore. In 
parting with Gilmor, he assigned him a small addi- 
tional force to continue the raid. 

The region which Gilmor now entered was the 
immediate scene of his early life, and there was not 
one hill, valley, or stream that was not associated 
with his memories of those years; indeed, he could 
have picked his way through it almost blindfolded. 
With the aid of his reinforced squadron, he set out 
from Cockeysville to carry out the main purpose 
which he had had in view from the beginning, 
namely, to break up the section of the Baltimore 
and Philadelphia Railway which lay not far east of 
the former city. He could now look for no support 
from any detachment following him; and he was 
aware that, not only was the railway strongly de- 
fended, but the guard could be quickly increased by 
several regiments dispatched from neighboring posts. 
This, however, did not cause him for one moment 
to hesitate to advance towards his desired objective. 
At first, he took the road that ran straight to Balti- 
more, but swerving from this highway towards the 
Gunpowder river again, he stopped at Glen Ellen, 



288 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

the home of his boyhood, where his father and 
mother still resided 

"I captured the whole party on the front steps," 
he afterwards said laughingly, "and if I except some 
perhaps just complaints of my rather severe hugging, 
I treated them with kindness, and upon detainment 
of a few hours, paroled and released them and 
moved on with my command." 

Such were some of the vicissitudes of the Civil 
War. The son had nominally at least captured his 
own parents! 

"What is your destination, Harry?" asked a 
younger member of the family circle, with undis- 
guised concern. 

When he had told her, she threw up her hands 
and exclaimed in a tone of despair: 

"You will never return alive!" 

Major Gilmor for a moment gazed thoughtfully 
at his small force resting with their horses under 
the trees. 

"I believe you are right," he said quietly. "But 
I am resolved to fight and to whip everything that 
stops me." 

That night, the small company under his leader- 
ship started again on their raid. So exhausted had 
the men become by the life in the saddle during so 
many days, with such short interval for repose, 
that they went to sleep on their horses as they rode 



THE DASH ON BALTIMORE ' 289 

i i 

along; and Gilmor himself, their guide as well as 
their commander, was also so overcome by fatigue 
that he could not resist following their example. 
Suddenly, he was awakened by finding himself sur- 
rounded by yelping dogs. The troopers dismounted 
at the farm house which they had now reached, and 
they were still so drowsy that they threw them- 
selves at length on the ground and fell at once into 
a deep slumber. 

The next morning, the entire force arose refreshed, 
breakfasted, mounted, and directed their horses' 
heads straight for the line of the Philadelphia and 
Baltimore Railway. As they advanced, Gilmor de- 
tailed several soldiers to destroy the telegraph wires 
that ran beside the highway which they were pur- 
suing. Two others were ordered to ride ahead of 
the column to look out for Federal pickets. As the 
two were passing a^farmer's house they noticed that 
a Federal flag was fljdng over the roof. One of 
the troopers commanded him to lower it; he de- 
clined; and when the trooper attempted to haul it 
down himself, the farmer discharged a load of buck- 
shot into his face and breast, and then dropping his 
gun, fled into the adjacent woods. When the col- 
umn came up, the trooper, though dying, retained 
his consciousness and power of speech sufficiently 
to urge his comrades to leave him behind and to 
continue at once on their way. Having lifted him 



290 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

into one of his slayer's carts, and given him a cup 
of water and received his last messages, Gilmor or- 
dered the negro in chairge to take the wounded man 
to the nearest village rs^here a doctor's services were 
to be obtained. 

On the column arriving at the Baltimore and 
Philadelphia railway, they did not halt to tear up 
the track first, but pushed rapidly along it towards 
the bridge that spanned the Gunpowder river; but 
before they could reach it, they caught the sound of 
a train approaching from the direction of Baltimore. 
Gilmor at once ordered a squad of twenty men to 
go back, and taking a position on either side of the 
roadbed, to bring the- train to a stop by leveling 
their guns at the engineer. Apprehensive of being 
shot, and doubtless fearing too that the bridge had 
been tampered with, this man, as soon as he saw 
the soldiers, blew his whistle for down-brakes, and 
the long line of coaches slowed up until they came 
to a standstill. Guards were at once placed in 
each car. 

"I will shoot or cut down the first man who is 
guilty of looting," was Gilmor's stem proclamation 
to the memlDers of his column, and they obeyed him 
without a question. 

It was his intention to compel the engineer to 
pilot the train as far as Havre de Grace. Having 
burnt the great railway bridge stretched across the 



THE DASH ON BALTIMORE 291 

Susquehanna river, he would then return upon his 
tracks to the Gunpowder river, setting fire to all 
the bridges in the interval and closing with the 
destruction of the one spanning the Gunpowder; but 
before the engineer could be arrested and made to 
carry out this bold plan, he had leaped from his 
engine and fled into the woods shutting in the rail- 
way at this point. 

Informed that General Franklin was aboard of the 
train, Gilmor in person passed from one end of it 
to the other in his search for this disinguished of- 
ficer. 

"Is General Franklin in this car?" he inquired in 
loud tones as he entered each coach. 

But there was no reply, although there were many 
officers to be seen in the different seats. 

Starting back from the last car to the first, Gil- 
mor, fully determined to find his man, called out: 

"Every officer must show his papers." 

General Franklin was thus forced to disclose his 
presence, and he and the other officers were at once 
removed to the telegraph station nearby and put 
under a strong guard. While this was being done, 
the train, all its passengers having left it, was set 
on fire and completely destroyed. Before the last 
car had gone up in flames, a second train was heard 
thundering along from the direction of Baltimore. 
This too was stopped, but not before the engineer 



292 CONI<M*M)MUA'rK S0I.I)1FJIR 

had leaped rrom his cab and taken refuge, like the 
first one, in the under-brush of the adjacent forest, 
where he could not be followed. As before, no rifling 
of the j)iiHS(Mi)j;('rs' persons and trunks was permitted. 

The bridal' ovei- the (lunpowder river was de- 
fended by :i small body of Federal infantry, whom 
it was iieccssnry for Cilmor to dislodge before burn- 
ing llic sirucl.ure. On the approach of the Con- 
fedcialc shar[)-sl\ooters, they lied to a gunboat 
which was anchored in the stream. Advantage was 
at once taken of their retreat, — the second train 
was set on fire, the throttle of the engine opened, 
and tlu> whole line of cars left to run down to the 
bridge. The draw was sooh filled with coaches that 
had dropp(»d into the watcT, and the timbers of the 
structure broke out in flatnes. A flag of truce was 
now sent to the I'ederal soldiers who had retired to 
the gunboat, with the request that they would 
ti'ansport to Havre de Grace all the persons who 
wished to resume their journey northward; and this 
request was complied with. 

'V\w second train having been entirely consumed, 
the prisoners who were to be carried off were 
brought forward under a strong guard, and followed 
by t-heni and by his troopers, (Vilmor set out, in 
high spirits, for lialtiniore. His plan was to strike 
the city on the east, and then to move around its 
border until he arrived at the entrance to Charles 



TiiK DASiT ON uAr;niviouK 20;^ 

street. Down this street he intended to |):iss until 
he should come to its intersection witli I^'nmklin; 
and there turning to tiie righl, il, wns his purpose 
to leave the city again by the Franklin lurnpiia'. 
The route which he would pursue in this proKiaininc 
would lie through the most, conspicuous quartei-; and 
this would inci-ease the Iriuinpli of (he march, 

l^altimorc, ;illliough il, had remained in l.lie power 
of the enemy liiroughout the war, was still as a 
whole in sympathy with the Southern cause; and 
had Gilmor appeared on its most fashionable thor- 
oughfare at the head of his gallant horsemen, he 
would have been received wilJi such vociferous ac- 
clamations as had never bcifore welcomed the pres- 
ence of a Confederate officer north of the Potomac. 
But as he api)r()ached the city, he was informed 
that a large body of troops had been hurried 
thither for its protection, and that, as a further 
precaution, all the principal streets had been stoutly 
barricaded. Aware that his force was too small to 
admit of a chance of succ(\ss againsL such serious 
obstacles, he swerved off when in sight of Lown and 
turned his face towai'ds Towson, situated somt^ 
seven miles away towards tlu^ north. Nor did Ik? 
hesitate in this course when ho hx^ai'd Lhat a squad- 
ron of cavalrymen were posted directly in th(> path 
which he was following. Tt was his intention to 
rush this body as soon as he cauic u^) with it, and 



294 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

if unsuccessful, to fall back upon Baltimore, and, 
under cover of night, to retire through the woods. 

As he drew near Towson, he picked out a squad 
of ten men, and at their head, with pistol in hand, 
galloped forward to make a reconnoissance. Enter- 
ing the town at the same speed, but observing no 
sign of the enemy's presence, Gilmor and his troop- 
ers dismounted in front of the tavern and there 
awaited the arrival of the rest of the column. Dur- 
ing this interval, an acquaintance informed him that 
one thousand horsemen had left Baltimore and were 
moving forward along the Towson road to intercept 
his force. He determined to attack the vanguard 
of this squadron before they could obtain support 
from their commander coming up behind. 

All his men having now assembled in the town 
square, Gilmor drew them up in a single strong col- 
umn; and while they were standing quietly in that 
formation, he sent out a scout to report the first 
appearance of the hostile cavalrymen. This soldier 
soon returned with the information that their van 
was already in sight. A second scout was dis- 
patched, with orders to approach near enough to 
this advance body to fire on it, and then to return 
at a gallop to Towson. During his absence, the 
prisoners were sent off under a guard of ten men, 
who were instructed, should Gilmor fail to join them 
after a certain time, to make straight for General 



THE DASH ON BALTIMORE 295 

Early's army, which was now supposed to be oper- 
ating in the vicinity of the northern environs of 
Washington. 

As soon as the second scout, having carried out 
his orders, came back, a squad of fifteen horsemen 
was sent forward towards Baltimore with instruc- 
tions to attack the approaching squadron, and after 
firing their guns, to retreat in a body. Just before 
they rode up to their comrades posted not far from 
Towson, they were to divide sufficiently to leave 
room for a rush by Gilmor and the remainder of 
his troopers against the Federal detachment, which 
was certain to be in hurried and confused pursuit. 

Although the Confederate raiders were exhausted 
by their hard ride and by lack of sleep, and although 
too they were aware that, in case of defeat even by 
the Federal vanguard, they could look for no sup- 
port from behind, still not a voice among them was 
raised for an immediate and a rapid retreat. The 
shades of evening were now fast deepening. 

"I expect the band will go up tonight," one of the 
men was overheard to remark, "but we must stick 
by the Major." 

"He will take us through all right," said another. 
"Only stay by him, and there's no danger." 

The troopers pulled their hats closely down on 
the tops of their heads, and then carefully examined 
their pistols, which they now held in their hands 



296 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

ready for use. All sat quietly and expectantly in 
their saddles. Far down the road, they could see 
their fifteen comrades boldly advancing right up to 
the heads of the enemy's first row of horses. The 
sound of firing was heard, — ^the squad had emptied 
their revolvers in the very faces of the opposing 
cavalrymen who had replied with a fusillade from 
their carbines. The Federal vanguard turned back 
almost at once in great disorder, followed by the 
yelling Confederate troopers shooting away freely 
as they pursued; but fearing that they would soon 
run into the main column, they halted, and then re- 
treated to await the arrival of the rest of the Con- 
federate force, who could be heard approaching at a 
rapid trot. The darkness was now so great that 
the latter were unable to distinguish their comrades, 
and thinking that they really belonged to the 
enemy, fired on them; fortunately without effect, as 
the bullets went wild from the inability of the men 
to take an accurate aim. 

The entire Confederate column was now once more 
united, and Gilmor, having arranged it in proper 
formation, ordered the whole body to follow him at 
a gallop as he charged down the road towards the 
point where the enemy were supposed to have 
stopped. Shouting at the top of their voices, and 
making a furious clatter with the hoofs of their 
horses, they swept forward in the stillness of the 



THE DASH ON BALTIMORE 297 

night. The Federal cavalrymen, not unnaturally 
'' exaggerating their number, very discreetly turned 
about and retreated in haste towards Baltimore, 
followed by the Confederate horsemen, firing volley 
after volley with their pistols into the ranks of the 
rear guard, who could only be distinguished in the 
darkness by the flashes of their responding guns. 
When the pursuers had come within four miles of 
Baltimore, they halted, and then slowly made their 
way back to Towson. Not a soldier among them 
had been killed or wounded, and only one horse 
had been injured. 

No time was now lost by Gilmor in retiring from 
such a dangerous neighborhood. He set out at once 
to rejoin General Johnson's brigade, but he had a 
long distance to traverse before he could hope to 
come up with it. As his column moved along, the 
men were overcome with sleep, and some even 
tumbled from their horses in their slumber. To 
prevent any loss to his command, Gilmor took a 
position in the rear, with the intention of picking 
up those who should fall by the way. But he had 
not gone far when he lost consciousness himself. 
How many miles he rode in this condition, he was 
unable to calculate afterwards. The first sound that 
awakened him was the jar of a loud voice calling 
out in the darkness: 
"Halt, who are you?" 



298 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"A friend," replied Gilmor, instantly on the alert. 

"A friend to whom?" was the next question ex- 
pressed in the same threatening tone. 

"To the Union," was the firm response. 

"What are you doing here at this hour of the 
night?" 

"I have been on a scout after Gilmor 's raiders. 
My captain sent me ahead to tell you that you 
must not fire on his men." 

"Very well, I won't do so." 

"I will return at once and inform him that the 
road is safe," said Gilmor, wheeling his horse's head 
to the right about. 

He soon perceived that, while asleep, he had 
passed out of the main road into a country byway. 
Leaping a fence and making across the fields, he 
was soon once more in the right track, along which 
he now advanced at a gallop in order to catch up 
with the members of his command. Discovering 
one of his men asleep by the roadside, he halted 
and dismounted to awake him. The soldier, on 
being shaken into full consciousness, informed him 
that he had been left there to tell him that the 
rest of the column was resting at a spot a short 
distance off. When the two reached this spot, all 
the men were seen Ijdng on the ground buried in 
slumber; at once, they were aroused; and the entire 
body set out for the place which had been assigned 



THE DASH ON BALTIMORE 299 

as the rendezvous when the guard in charge of the 
prisoners departed from Towson. On arriving there, 
they found the guard and prisoners fast asleep, but 
the buggy in which General Franklin had been 
driving was empty. 

"Where is General Franklin?" exclaimed Gilmor 
in tones of anger. "I ordered him to be kept under 
a constant guard in the buggy." 

"He is in the fence corner sleeping with the other 
prisoners," was the reply. 

But an investigation there did not disclose the 
presence of the distinguished Federal officer; he had 
really taken advantage of the drowsiness of his 
captors to escape into the wood; and it was to no 
purpose that scouts were sent out in every direc- 
tion to bring him back, — not a trace of him was to 
be detected. Gilmor, hoping that he might discover 
papers of value in the General's valise, ordered it 
to be opened and its contents examined, but they 
were found to consist only of a prayer book, a snuff 
box, and several photographs; all of which were, at 
a later date, returned to the owner. 

As soon as the column set out again, Gilmor, 
whose slumbers had been interrupted, went to sleep 
on horseback. One of his troopers rode at his side 
to prevent his falling to the ground as he passed 
along. Two Confederate sympathizers interviewed 
him while he was in this condition of irrepressible 



300 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

drowsiness; he talked with them in a disjected 
manner, but afterwards had no recollection of a 
single question asked or what had been his reply. 
At the end of this profound slumber, he awoke re- 
freshed, and on the second day galloped, at the head 
of his men, into the camp where his brigade, under 
General Bradley Johnson, had temporarily halted. 



CHAPTER XV 

Lieutenant Wise Carries the Message 
to Lee 



CHAPTER XV 

LIEUTENANT WISE CARRIES THE MESSAGE TO LEE 

Clover was a little village situated about a 
hundred miles southwest of Richmond, on the rail- 
road running to Danville. This railroad was now of 
the last importance to the Confederacy, not only 
because it was the principal artery of supply for 
the troops defending the lines at Petersburg, but 
also because, should those troops be compelled to 
evacuate these lines, it would become the highway 
by which they, in their retreat, would endeavor to 
join the army in North Carolina under General 
Johnston. The village had some military value as 
being only a few miles distant from the bridge over 
the Staunton river, which had to be kept under a 
strong guard so as to assure the safe passage of 
trains to Petersburg and Richmond from the gran- 
aries and conscript depots of the South. It was the 
gateway also to a region of country which still 
furnished a large quantity of food for the Confeder- 
ate army, mules for its wagon trains, and slaves to 
work on the fortifications at the front. 

On Sunday morning, April 2d, 1865, a small band 
of Confederate officers had gathered in the Clover 
railway station to obtain any news that might be 



304 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

passing over the wires. This had become a habit 
with them for some time, as events of supreme im- 
portance were now taking place at Petersbm*g which 
might at any moment fatally compromise the entire 
position of the Confederacy; but it was with a 
keener anxiety than usual that they entered the 
office that morning, for, on the previous day, a 
dispatch had been received which stated that Gen- 
eral Sheridan had routed the Confederate right-wing 
at Five Forks, and was about to cut the Confeder- 
ate army off from their shortest road to the South, 
should they be compelled, as now seemed certain, to 
abandon their trenches. 

It was not until eleven o'clock in the day that 
messages began to pour over the wires, and as each 
was caught by the operator and repeated to the 
persons standing around him, it seemed to be of a 
blacker significance than the one that went before. 
The first to come in was: the lines at Petersburg 
were broken this morning; the second: General Lee 
is retiring from the city; the third: the Confederate 
army is retreating towards Amelia Court-House on 
the Richmond and Danville Railroad; and finally: 
orders have been issued for the immediate evacua- 
tion of Richmond. 

Two events were now confidently expected by 
the officers, who, in spite of the gloomy news which 
they had just received, declined to despond, namely. 



LIEUTENANT WISE 305 

that Mr. Davis and his cabinet would be passing 
southward through Clover within twenty-four hours; 
and that before a week had passed, General Lee 
and his troops would cross Staunton river by the 
bridge a few miles away and slowly fall back towards 
the Carolinas. 

The first event took place precisely as anticipated, 
— Mr. Davis, accompanied by his chief civil ad- 
visers, appeared on the following morning in a train 
which had been specially reserved for his party, and 
after a short stop, continued his journey towards 
Danville, where, reestablishing the seat of govern- 
ment, he remained for several days. Would Lee too 
come along to serve with his army as a shield of 
defense between these heads of the central adminis- 
tration and the pursuing enemy? 

All the rest of Monday; all Tuesday; and down to 
midday, Wednesday, most of the patient watchers 
kept their seats, until they were worn out by 
fatigue and the stress of anxiety. Not a message 
arrived from any point situated beyond Burke ville; 
not a message from any point this side which gave 
any information as to the movements of the Con- 
federate army. All trains had ceased to run. The 
ominous silence was unbroken and impenetrable. 
Then suddenly there came a telegram from Burke- 
ville announcing that the wires between that village 
and Amelia Court-House, where General Lee was 



306 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

known to have arrived in his effort to get astride 
of the Richmond and Danville railroad, had been 
cut; and that it was reported that Federal cavalry 
had possession of the line between the two stations. 
This rumor, if true, signified that the Confederate 
army had been compelled by superior power to 
abandon their original objective, and to strike 
across the country to Farmville, with the expecta- 
tion of continuing their retreat by the Southside 
Railway towards Lynchburg. 

General Walker, who was the officer in command 
at Clover, promptly informed Mr. Davis at Danville 
of the rupture of the telegraph line beyond Burke- 
ville. Mr. Davis was* still hopeful that General 
Lee had not been forced to swerve from his intended 
course; but in order to ascertain definitely where 
he was, and what were his plans for the immediate 
future, the President requested General Walker to 
let him know whether he had a trustworthy officer 
who would volunteer to pass in an engine as far 
down the railway towards Richmond as it would 
be necessary to go before coming up with the Con- 
federate troops. 

It happened that, when the President's message 
was received by General Walker, Lieutenant John 
S. Wise alone was present with him, and he at once 
volunteered to go in search of General Lee and to 
obtain from him the information desired. The 



LIEUTENANT WISE 307 

Lieutenant had been one of the cadets who had 
taken part in the Battle of New Market, where he 
had been wounded, and he was still a mere boy in 
years as well as a stripling in appearance. 

"You are too young," said General Walker de- 
cisively when the young officer offered his services. 

In a short time, however, he reconsidered his 
refusal. But it was probably the impression which 
he had of the youthfulness of the messenger, and 
of the rashness usual with that period of life, that 
led the veteran officer to dwell at length on the 
necessity for excessive caution at every stage of the 
journey. His instructions to the young man were 
almost minute in their details. If, on arriving at 
Burkeville, he should find that the enemy had not 
yet reached that station, then he was to use his 
own judgment as to passing with his engine to the 
track of the Southside Railway, — which crossed the 
Danville Railway there, — and moving down that 
road until he should catch up with the retreating 
Confederate army. If the Southside Railway too 
had been seized in part by the enemy, then he must 
obtain a horse and make his way across the coimtry 
to General Lee's headquarters. 

General Walker himself was convinced that the 
Federal advance guard had really taken possession 
of Burkeville. 

"My reason for thinking so," he remarked, "is 
that this evening, after a long silence, we have re- 



308 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

ceived several telegrams purporting to be from Gen- 
eral Lee urging the forwarding of stores to that 
point. From the language used, I am satisfied that 
it is a trick to captui'e the trains. But I may be 
mistaken. You must be careful to find out the 
facts before you get to the place." 

About nightfall of the same day, an engine, with a 
baggage car attached, arrived from Danville with 
important papers from Mr. Davis; and Lieutenant 
Wise, accompanied by General Walker, went to the 
station to get aboard of it. The General, as if still 
disposed to fear lest so youthful a messenger should 
act rashly and expose himself to avoidable danger 
because failing to evince the cautious spirit which 
an older head would be careful to show, again urged 
upon him the need of the utmost prudence and dis- 
cretion in every step which he should take in the 
dangerous expedition before him. But that he in- 
tended that the whole responsibility for every move- 
ment should rest upon the young officer was revealed 
by his parting words to the engineer. 

"Remember," he said to him, "you are to obey 
implicitly every command of Lieutenant Wise." 

The Lieutenant had, by this time, thrown a 
couple of blankets into the car to serve as a rude 
bed. Having thrust a revolver into his hip pocket 
and placed numerous cartridges in his haversack, he 
buttoned up closely in his breast pocket the sign 



LIEUTENANT WISE 309 

manual empowering him to impress a horse if neces- 
sary, and also the autograph order for General Lee, 
both of which he had just received from Mr. Davis. 
After a few more words with General Walker, he 
mounted into the car and gave the engineer the 
signal to start. 

The night sky was overcast with clouds, but 
every now and then through a rift the moon would 
shine out, spreading a ghostly light over the broken 
face of the country, and then would vanish again 
behind the black veil, leaving the fields and woods 
adjacent to the railway buried once more in dark- 
ness. There was no lamp at the head of the engine 
to cast a narrow yellow beam far down the rails as 
the wheels clattered along; and not even a candle 
was burning in the car occupied by the single pas- 
senger. Occasionally, as the furnace door was 
opened to receive another supply of fuel, the flare 
of the fires within would, for a minute, illumine 
the cab and play around the grim and swarthy 
figures of the engineer and fireman; but soon, with 
a sharp bang, the entrance to the small inferno in 
the bowels of the locomotive would be closed, and 
the men would be swallowed up again in the black- 
ness. 

It was a lonely region through which the engine 
and car were passing. For a century, it had been 
the chief seat in Virginia of tobacco culture and 



310 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

slave holding, and was divided up into large plan- 
tations, which had dispersed the inhabitants and 
left the far greater proportion of the surface of the 
soil to grow up in bushes and dwarfed woods. War 
too had affected it by making the population still 
more sparse and compelling the abandonment of 
still wider spaces of the land. As the short train 
moved on along the track the only sound that broke 
the deep stillness of the country was the rattle of 
the engine and car. Not a light was to be seen 
shining from the windows of a cabin or mansion to 
show the proximity of human beings; not a single 
cry was to be heard that indicated the presence of 
a watch dog or of some" hunter abroad with his 
hounds in the forest. The entire land and all its 
inhabitants seemed to be wrapped in awed silence, 
which may well have fallen on them under the in- 
fluence of the great events that were now crowding 
upon each other on the theatre of the war for the 
doom of the Confederate cause. 

The stillness and the darkness were brought home 
all the more impressively by the slowness with which 
the engineer was compelled to move owing to the 
dangerous condition of the track, which, at some 
places, consisted simply of wooden rails covered 
over with scrap iron. The stations were situated 
far apart, and as they were passed, offered not a 
single sign of human life. Whenever the wood and 



LIEUTENANT WISE 311 

water sank so low in the tender that it was neces- 
sary to renew the supply, Lieutenant Wise, the 
engineer, and the fireman were forced to do the 
work without assistance; the negro station-hands 
had all vanished; and every station-master had ap- 
parently followed their example, in their expecta- 
tion of the enemy's early arrival. 

After leaving Clover, the engine and car ran for 
some distance through a large body of thick woods, 
and then entering the open country, descended by 
a sharp grade to the bridge over the Staunton river. 
At this spot, for the defense of the structure, ex- 
tensive earthworks had been thrown up; and they 
had proved fully effective in the battle which had 
taken place there only a few months before, on 
which occasion the dangerous raid of General Wilson 
had been brought to a dead stop. That officer, at 
the head of a large detachment, had advanced from 
Petersburg to this point, which was far behind the 
Confederate lines; but on reaching it, he was sig- 
nally defeated; and when he endeavored to return, 
was driven in confusion towards the south. 

Having clattered through the closed-in-bridge, — 
the muddy surface of the stream below being 
barely visible between the sills of the track, — the 
tt-ain then passed along the tall embankment that 
carried the rails across the broad lowgrounds to the 
edge of the hills. It then entered the gap through 



312 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

which the Little Roaiioke poured down from the 
uplands of the back country to join the Staunton; 
then it rattled on by the banks of numerous brooks 
and creeks that offered, in the midst of the rough 
landscape, a narrow stretch of level ground. Onward 
still it rolled between long ridges that rose bare or 
wooded on either side of the way; through the wide 
open fields, where no object as yet could be dis- 
tinguished; through deep cuts, where the earth had 
been torn apart with shovel and pick to produce a 
uniform grade; and through almost endless lengths 
of forest that stood black and silent on either hand. 
Mile upon mile, the wheels rattled on, and slowly 
the train drew nearer and nearer to Bui'keville, the 
place upon which all the thoughts of Lieutenant 
Wise and the engineer were concentrated. 

It was two o'clock in the morning when they 
arrived at Meherrin, situated only twelve miles 
away from their objective. Here the engine and 
cai' ha^ang been brought to a stop, Lieutenant Wise 
jumped to the platform to find out whether he 
could arouse any one in the houses that loomed 
in the dai'kness back of the station. The station 
itself was entirely vacant. He banged away at the 
door of the first house which he reached, but no 
one responded to his blows in spite of their loud- 
ness. Again he knocked with redoubled energy. 

""^Mio's thar?" came a muffled voice, as if from 
beneath bed clothes within. 



LIEUTENANT WISE 313 

"A friend/' was the reply, given quietly but firmly. 

An old man poked his head cautiously out of the 
window. 

"Have you heard anything from Lee's army?" 

"Naw, nothin' at all. I heerd he was at Amely 
Cote House yistiddy." 

"Have you heard or seen any Yankees here- 
abouts?" 

"None here yit, — I heerd thar was some at Green 
Bay yistiddy, but they have done gone back." 

"Back where?" 

"I dunno. Back to Grant's army, I reckon." 

"Where is Grant's army?" 

"Lord knows. It pears to me like its everywhar. 
I seed a man come by here late yistiddy, and he 
said he come from Burkeville, so I reckon thar 
warn't none thar when he lef, but whether they is 
come since I can't say." 

One fact at least Lieutenant Wise found out from 
this conversation, — General Lee was certainly not 
at Burkeville. Was any detachment of General 
Grant's army there? That was a question which 
only actual investigation could answer correctly. 
All the chances were, that, if Lee had been thrust 
away from the Richmond and Danville road, as 
seemed now highly probable, Burkeville was in the 
possession of Federal outposts at least; and the 
presence there of even so small a force as that 



314 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

would make an approach to the place by three 
Confederates quite as dangerous as though many 
thousand troops were encamped in the neighbor- 
hood. 

However, it was essential that he should find out 
positively whether Burkeville was held by Federal 
soldiers, for, imtil this was actually proved, he could 
not decide upon the proper course for him to follow 
in carrying out his orders to reach the Confederate 
army. If they did not hold it, he could switch the 
engine and car to the Southside Railway and go on 
to Farmville, which lay in the path of Lee's pos- 
sible advance. If they did hold it, then he could 
return to Meherrin, impress a horse, and make 
straight across the open country. 

Mounting to his car again. Lieutenant Wise gave 
the signal to the engineer to move forward. Four 
miles further up the railway was another station, 
and here he ordered the train to be again stopped. 
This place was more hushed and deserted than 
Meherrin; not a single person was to be found there; 
and he drew the conclusion that all had fled under 
the influence of a report that the Federal vanguard 
was not far away. As he stood there in the dark- 
ness and silence, a whippoorwill began to utter its 
cry in a neighboring swamp, and the sound, always 
gruesome and melancholy, seemed to deepen the 
loneliness of the surrounding country as well as to 



LIEUTENANT WISE 815 

emphasize the hopelessness of the Confederate cause, 
pursued even into that remote corner of the land by 
overwhelming force. 

"Go very slowly," was the order which Lieuten- 
ant Wise now gave the engineer; and both set them- 
selves to watch more carefully than ever for the 
first indications of the enemy's presence. Burke- 
ville was situated only eight miles away, but even 
eight miles is a considerable space when the wheels 
of an engine are made to revolve at a very low rate 
of speed. As they drew near to the place, the^j 
observed the reflection, as if from a fire, in the sky \ 

ahead of them; but as the track followed a curve 
in approaching the village, and was also shut in on 
both sides by thickets of pine and small oaks, it was 
impossible at that distance to discover the origin 
of the suspicious light. Was it due to the fires in 
the enemy's camp, or had a detachment of Lee's 
army after all been able to march this far in their 
retreat? But why, at this late hour, should either 
friend or foe keep up camp fires of such a size, or 
in such number, as to throw a bright reflection 
like that on the face of the heavens? 

What should now be the next step for the Lieu- 
tenant to take? Should he creep through the under- 
brush until he should come in sight of the fires, and 
thus be able to find out what caused them, or should 
he remain on the engine and go forward to the 



\ 



316 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

very point where the fires were burning? If he 
stole through the bushes, much time would be lost, 
although that course would be the safer of the two 
to follow. On the other hand, if he advanced by- 
rail, he could reach the immediate vicinity of the 
place within a few minutes, and there would be a 
fair chance that the engine could be reversed in 
time, if necessary, and an escape quickly made. 

He decided to go forward by rail, but when he 
announced his decision to the engineer, the latter 
protested against it with vehemence. 

"What, Lieutenant," he exclaimed, "ain't you 
afraid they are Yankees? If they are, we are 
goners." 

Lieutenant Wise declined to yield. The engmeer, 
still muttering his objections, reluctantly drew back 
the lever, and the engine and car, which had been 
stopped, again moved slowly forward along the 
rails. A sharp turn in the track brought them in 
full view of the Burkeville station. At once, the 
cause of the light reflected on the sky was explained, 
— large gangs of workingmen were employed, in the 
flare of many torches, in tearing up the track of the 
Southside Railway, which crossed the Richmond 
and Danville at this point. In reality, they were 
changing the gauge in order to facilitate the trans- 
fer of Federal troops and munitions from Petersburg 
to aid in cutting off the advancing Confederates 
before they should arrive at Farmville. 



LIEUTENANT WISE 317 

One glance revealed to Lieutenant Wise that he 
was in the presence of the enemy; and hardly had 
that thought flashed through his mind when his 
own presence was observed by the Federal guards. 
The clatter of the wheels had passed unnoticed 
owing to the noise made by the tools of the work- 
ingmen; but as soon as the engine turned the curve, 
the light from the torches was reflected on its metal ' 

front and side, and it stood fully disclosed to view, 
a conspicuous, and the enemy would be sure to 
think, a hostile object. There was not a moment\ 
to be lost by its occupants if they were to escape 
with their lives. ^ 

"Reverse the engine," called out Lieutenant Wise 
to the engineer peremptorily. 

The man seemed for the moment to be paralyzed 
by the danger of his situation, and made not the 
slightest movement to obey the order. 

"It's no use," he replied in blubbering tones. 
"They will kill us before we can get imder way." 

"Reverse the engine or you are a dead man," 
the Lieutenant hissed, clapping the muzzle of his 
pistol to the engineer's ear as he spoke. 

The engineer, as if galvanized into activity, once 
more drew back the lever, and the engine slowly 
responded. 

The Federal guards had approached so near that 
they could be heard crying out "surrender, sur- 



318 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

render." The wheels were now moving more rap- 
idly. "Surrender, surrender," the call was reiter- 
ated. Still more rapidly moved the wheels. A vol- 
ley was fired and the bullets rattled against the 
sides of the engine, cab, and tender. The fireman 
had hidden himself in the tender, while Lieutenant 
Wise and the engineer had thrown themselves down 
on the floor of the cab. Within a few minutes, the 
engine had acquired sufficient speed to bear them 
beyond the danger zone, and after a while had to 
be slowed down to prevent it jumping the rickety 
track. But the engineer for one did not seem to be 
elated by his escape from the enemy; indeed, in 
spite of his duties at the throttle, he appeared to be 
ruminating sadly on some subject that possessed 
his mind. Turning at last to Lieutenant Wise, he 
said, in the whining voice peculiar to persons of his 
social class in the South: 

"Lieutenant, would you have blowed my brains 
out sho' nuff if I hadn't done what you told me?" 

"Certainly I would," replied Lieutenant Wise. 

"Wall," said the engineer turning again to his 
throttle, with a sigh, "all I've got to say is, I 
don't want to travel with you no mo'." 

"You'll not have to travel far. I shall get off at 
Meherrin and you can go back." 

"What," exclaimed the engineer, "you goin' to 
get off at Meherrin in the dark by yourself, with 



LIEUTENANT WISE 319 

no hoss and right in the middle of the Yankees? 
Darn my skin if I'd do it for Jeff Davis hisself." 

Dawn had just begun to appear when the engine, 
with its single car, came to a full stop at Meherrin 
and Lieutenant Wise descended to the platform. It 
was his intention to travel across the country until 
he should reach General Lee's temporary head- 
quarters, wherever they might be. There was no 
doubt now that the Confederate army was advanc- 
ing towards Farmville, but how far towards that 
town had it progressed? Had Federal troops been 
able to head them_ off by following the Southside 
Railway? If the Lieutenant set out to push his 
way through the countryside to Farmville, would he 
not be in danger of running into this intervening 
cordon of Federal soldiers? Indeed, was it possible 
to ride around them at all, no matter how wide 
the detour which he might make? Would not the 
same barrier confront him at every point? But he 
was under positive orders to bear Mr. Davis's mes- 
sage to General Lee on horseback if the engine 
could not safely go as far as Burkeville; and how- 
ever dangerous the journey over land might be, or 
how uncertain the chance of reaching the Confed- 
erate army, he resolved to discharge his duty at 
all hazards. 

Having instructed the engineer to report to Gen- 
eral Walker a full account of what had been seen 



320 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

at Bui-ke\alle, and also to inform him of the pro- 
posed ride across comitiy, Lieutenant Wise gave 
him, for the last time, the signal to move on, and 
tlien tui'ned away to find out whether he could pro- 
cure a horse to carrj^ him on the perilous mission 
with which he had been intrusted. Not a horse was 
to be obtained. Anticipating the eai'ly arrival of 
the Federal stragglers, the people about the station 
had taken the precaution to send off to a distance 
all the horses which they owned as the only means 
of preventing their seizAire by the enemy. 

But the Lieutenant was not to be discoui'aged; he 
set out on foot in the direction of Fai"m\ille, with 
the hope that he might "be able, when he had gone 
fm'ther into the country, to discover a riding horse 
wliich he might impress. He had walked perhaps 
several miles along the road leading tlu'ough the 
forest when he came to an opening where there 
wei*e fields under cultivation; and just at the side 
of the highway as it was about to plunge again into 
the woods, he saw a fai'mer's house, and directly in 
front of this house, tied to a rack, he noticed what 
appeared to be a young and \'igorous horse alreadj^ 
saddled and standing there seeminglj^ awaiting his 
arrival to carry him forward to liis destination. 
But he could not go and deliberately mount the 
animal and ride away without a word to its owner, 
who probably resided in the house. 



LIEUTENANT WISE 321 

Not having eaten that day, he was, by this time, 
very hungry after his walk, and under the influence 
of this additional reason for interviewing the farmer, 
he boldly knocked at the door, and gladly accepted 
the invitation to enter which was at once hospitably 
extended to him. Breakfast had already been put 
on the table, and besides the farmer, — a man above 
the military age, — and his family, he found a Con- 
federate cavalryman, who proved to be the owner 
of the horse. This soldier, having recently lost one 
in the service, had retm*ned to his home in the 
neighboring county to obtain another, and was now 
on his way to rejoin the Confederate army. 

"I require your horse and must have it," said 
Lieutenant Wise abruptly. 

The trooper's only reply was a careless laugh, as 
he supposed the stranger was amusing the com- 
pany with a joke. 

The Lieutenant coolly took from his pocket the 
sign manual which Mr. Davis had sent him, through 
General Walker, and quietly handed it to the soldier. 

"You will observe," said he, "that I am em- 
powered to impress a horse, should it become neces- 
sary." 

He then explained the mission which he had been 
ordered to discharge, and the cavalryman, with 
chagrin but without further demur, consented to 
the appropriation of his horse. 



822 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Lieutenant ^Yise, having finished an excellent 
breakfast, mounted the animal and started upon 
his journey again, with refreshed yigov and highly 
sanguine spirits, in spite of the fact that the farmer 
had just told him that Sheridan's troopers had 
already been seen in the neighborhood. Advancing 
with eyes and eai-s wide open to detect any sign of 
the enemy's proximity, it was not long before he 
began to hear the reverberation of hea\T guns 
toward the northeast, which might be at no great 
distance away: this led him to turn into a road 
that ran in a more westerly direction than the one 
which he had been following; but he had gone only 
a few himdred jrards along it when he caught the 
sound of nimierous horses' hoofs behind him, and, 
on looking back, he saw a colimm of Federal caval- 
rjTiien advancing towards him. WTien they per- 
ceived that their presence had been detected, they 
started in hot pursuit of him, and as they did so, 
they fired a volley at him, in the hope of bringing 
him and his horse to the groimd; but the animal, 
being strong and fresh, in a few minutes carried him 
beyond the range of their shots. 

As Lieutenant Wise was congratulating himself 
that he had escaped by his hoi-se's fleetness, he 
beheld in front of him, far down the ^'ista of tbe 
highway along which he was galloping, another 
column of Federal troopers, who had just begun to 



LIEUTENANT WISE 323 

debouch from a by-road. At that distance, they 
evidently mistook him at first for a comrade, for 
they neither sent out scouts to intercept him nor 
raised their guns to shoot at him. 

He now found himself in a predicament. If he 
advanced, he would run directly into the teeth of 
the column in front; if he retreated, he would, with 
equal certainty, fall into the jaws of the column 
behind. In his perplexity, he stopped his horse, 
and this action at once aroused the enemy's suspic- 
ion; several troopers promptly left the main detach- 
ment and advanced towards him; and even raised 
their guns and fired at him. Wheeling his horse's 
head towards the side of the road and clapping his 
heels into his flanks. Lieutenant Wise was, in a 
second, carried into the woods out of sight, and a 
run of half a mile among the trees brought him 
beyond the reach of pursuit. 

It was now clear to him that it was only by bend- 
ing farther to the west that he could hope to avoid 
the numerous columns of the enemy who were 
working around the wings of the retreating Confed- 
erate army. Keeping still to the protection of the 
forest, he was moving forward in a westerly direc- 
tion when suddenly a man in Confederate uniform 
with carbine in hand, appeared from behind a large 
oak. 

"Halt," he cried, leveling his gun at the horse- 
man as he spoke, "who are you?" 



324 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Lieutenant Wise's instant impression was that the 
man before him belonged to the order of Federal 
soldiers popularly known as Jesse scouts, a class 
that always wore the Confederate uniform, and, 
being in reality spies and expecting no mercy when 
captured, were notoriously ruthless and lawless. 
Feeling sure that this impression was a correct one, 
he was at first inclined to dissemble, but, fortun- 
ately for himself, he frankly gave his name and 
stated his rank. It was a Confederate scout who 
confronted him. 

"What the devil are you doing here?" the scout 
exclaimed as he lowered his carbine. 

He too had taken the "horseman for a Jesse scout, 
and was equally relieved to find that he had, not 
an unscrupulous enemy, but a comrade in misfor- 
tune before him. Lieutenant Wise fully explained 
the mission which he had to carry out. 

"I will help you," responded the scout heartily. 
"The Yankees are all around us. Wait one min- 
ute." 

He disappeared behind the screen of the under- 
brush, and when he came out again, he was mounted 
on a handsome horse, which he had been keeping 
under cover. He had evidently a perfect knowledge 
of the woods in front, for he advanced without hesi- 
tation. 

"I am one of General Rooney Lee's scouts," he 
said in reply to Lieutenant Wise's inquiry. "I have 
been hanging on the enemy's flank for several days." 



LIEUTENANT WISE 325 

"You gave me a great fright," said Lieutenant 
Wise, "I thought you were a Yankee sure, and I 
came near telhng you that I was one." 

"It was well that you did not," replied the scout, 
"I am taking no prisoners on this trip." 

He tapped the butt of his carbine significantly. 

The two men rode on together until they came 
to the edge of the forest, where they were able to 
command an extensive view of the country sloping 
down towards one of the larger affluents of the Ap- 
pomattox river. In the distance, they could see a 
Federal column descending to the very ford by 
which the two Confederates intended to» cross; and 
in order to anticipate the enemy in this action. 
Lieutenant Wise and the scout pressed their horses 
forward at a double rate of speed, and did not halt 
until they reached a thickly wooded hill that over- 
looked the ford. 

"Stop here one moment, while I ride out to see 
whether we can cross safely," said the scout. 

After advancing some distance ahead in the open, he 
waved his hand to the horseman behind to signal to 
him to come on and then galloped down to the stream. 
Lieutenant Wise quickly followed. The column of 
Federal cavalrymen had soon observed their move- 
ments and set out in pursuit. The scout crossed 
the ford in safety, but before his companion could 
do so, he became the target for a fusillade of shots, 



326 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

which, fortunately for him, fell short of the object 
they were aimed at. He had bent far over and 
nestled close under his horse's shoulder in order to 
escape the bullets; and he was further protected by 
the continuous fire which the scout and numerous 
pickets, posted behind a turn in the road on the 
further bank of the river, kept up in reply to the 
Federal volleys. 

Leaving the water, with his horse still unwounded, 
he quickly found shelter behind a hill that rose at 
the side of the highway. Without further danger, 
and still accompanied by the scout, he made his 
way to Farmville; but the hour of midnight passed 
before he was able to hand his autograph order to 
General Lee and explain in person the mission upon 
which he had been sent by Mr. Davis. 



CHAPTER XVI 
How the Colonel Saved the Town 



CHAPTER XVI 
HOW THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 

During the four years of war, the town of Dan- 
ville, Virginia, was somewhat remote from the scenes 
of actual fighting, and certainly partly from this 
fact was chosen as the site for one of the most im- 
portant military prisons in the Confederacy. But 
there was another reason why it was thought to be 
suitable for such a prison, — it contained many to- 
bacco warehouses of a large size which could be 
easily converted into convenient buildings for the 
detention of captives. At all times, there were 
from six to seven thousand Federal soldiers penned 
up here; and this small army had rather increased 
than fallen off in number as the end of hostilities 
drew near. Even after General Lee had surrendered 
at Appomattox, the doors still remained closed, and 
the captives within were for some time longer de- 
barred from freedom. 

During the existence of this crowded prison, it 
was guarded partly by disabled Confederate soldiers, 
partly by men too old to serve actively in the army, 
and partly by boys too young. The person at the 
top responsible for the safe keeping of all these cap- 
tives, and for the discipline of the squads that stood 



330 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

as sentinels over them, was Colonel Robert E. 
Withers, a gallant and imposing officer, who had 
been shot more than once through the body, and 
who had not been able to recover sufficiently from 
his last wound to return to his command in the 
field. 

Among the numerous difficulties with which he 
had constantly to contend was the shortage in the 
food supply, a condition which steadily grew more 
serious even for the citizens of the town as the war 
drew slowly to a conclusion. The wealthiest began 
to feel the pinch. Meat, even by them, was only 
eaten once in twenty-four hours; and quite frequently 
it was, for a time, not obtainable at all. Colonel 
Withers himself, the most influential person in the 
community and occupying the highest official posi- 
tion there, was only able to procure enough from 
day to day to satisfy the needs of a delicate daugh- 
ter under age. This portion was thrown into the 
pot along with a large quantity of black-eye peas, 
so that the peas might absorb its flavor and thus 
prove more nourishing to the elders, who made 
their dinner on this and other vegetables; followed, 
as a sweetmeat, by bread and sorghum molasses. 
There was at least an abundance of rice, since that 
staple continued throughout the war to be culti- 
vated in the South. 

Amidst this imiversal dearth, the prisoners natur- 
ally fared the worse; and there were times when 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 331 

they lacked the necessary quantity even of the 
coarse food which was given out to them from day 
to day. The negroes were not reduced to such 
straits, for they foraged furtively on their own 
hook; and not a single receptacle of food, whether 
belonging to their masters or to other people, was 
safe from their intrusive fingers and hungry stom- 
achs. On one occasion, Colonel Withers visited 
Mrs. Stuart, the mother of the famous Confederate 
Cavalry General, who resided in Danville, and to his 
surprise, found a very fat turkey tied by the leg to 
a handsome rosewood bedstead in the principal 
sleeping chamber. 

"Why do you keep this noble bird in your best 
room?" he asked, with a laugh. 

"It's a Christmas present from friends in the 
country," was the reply. "If I turned it out in 
the yard, it would be stolen before night." 

As the winter of 1864-5, the last and most har- 
rowing of the war, dragged on to an end, and the 
military outlook grew more desperate from short- 
age of men and food, the situation of the people of 
Danville and the prisoners became steadily more 
distressing and intolerable. The spring opened 
with no promise whatever of relief, unless it was to 
come with the collapse of the Confederacy, which 
now seemed to be impending. Early in April, the 
news was received that General Lee had abandoned 



332 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

the trenches around Petersburg, which his troops 
had been holding so vaUantly in spite of hunger and 
disparity in numbers. 

"Richmond has been evacuated," was the next 
message that flashed over the wires; and on the 
following morning, Mr. Davis and his cabinet ar- 
rived; but this only served to deepen the prevailing 
gloom, as their withdrawal from the capital indi- 
cated the low ebb to which the Confederacy had 
fallen. A few days later, the report spread that 
General Lee had surrendered, and the probability 
of its truth was supported by what was told by 
soldiers, passing through the town, who had left 
the army for one reason or another before it reached 
Appomattox. Any doubt which was felt at first as 
to the accui'acy of the rumor rapidly gi'ew less and 
less, without, however, diminishing the sense of un- 
certainty about the future which was now shared 
by all. 

Not long after Mr. Davis and his advisers had 
left for the South, a Confederate General, at the 
head of a considerable body of veteran cavalrymen, 
rode into town and publicly announced that he had 
been ordered to burn the bridges across the river, 
and also to destroy the Confederate stores of all 
sorts that had been collected in the warehouses. 
Had all this been done, Danville would have suffered 
precisely the fate which had just overtaken Rich- 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 333 

mond, — an inextinguishable conflagration would have 
followed, and the whole town would, in the end, 
have been consumed. As the Confederacy had now 
given up the ghost in Virginia at least, not the 
smallest military advantage would have accrued 
from such universal ruin. 

The first man to recognize this fact was Colonel 
Withers; and instead of standing helplessly by and 
seeing thousands of people rendered wantonly home- 
less, and millions of dollars in property given over 
to the torch for a mere delusion, he came forward 
boldly to face the military authority and to oppose 
the consummation of such an act of folly as was 
intended. Apart from his conviction as to the use- 
lessness of such destruction at this hopeless hour, 
he had reason to apprehend that, as the fires should 
spread, the thousands of prisoners, maddened by 
their hunger and thirsting for retaliation, would 
have to be released; and when thus turned loose, 
would overrun the streets in a spirit to commit 
every outrage which the situation permitted and 
invited. He forcibly pointed out to the Confeder- 
ate officer the certainty of these disasters, should 
he insist on burning the bridges and the stores in 
the warehouses. 

"I have my orders. Colonel," was the reply. "I 
have no option. I must carry them out." 

"Even if you burn the bridges, General," remon- 
strated Colonel Withers, "a Federal army can pass 



334 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

by the ford a short distance down the stream. 
Why then destroy these bridges which our people 
need hourly and cannot replace?" 

But the General was immovable. Colonel Withers 
returned to the prison and at once ordered a com- 
pany of picked guards to march to the principal 
bridge and protect it with musketry, should an at- 
tempt be made to set it on fire. When a small 
detachment of regular soldiers approached for the 
purpose, they were sternly warned by the captain 
of the squad to halt, and the butts of guns were 
brought to the shoulder to shoot as soon as the 
word was given. The officer of the detachment, 
perceiving that he was about to be resisted to the 
death, commanded his men to face about and re- 
turn to headquarters. No further effort was made 
to destroy the bridges. 

But the General, still obedient, like the soldier 
and not the citizen, to his orders from an authority 
which had now passed away, next took steps to ply 
the torch to all the stores housed in Danville. As 
a large proportion of them consisted of Hquors of 
various kinds, there was no ground for objecting to 
their destruction, — indeed it was advisable that, in 
that hour of license and confusion, they should be 
put out of the way, — but it was necessary that this 
should be done in a manner that would not en- 
danger the safety of the town. A warehouse full of 




The Largest Store-house in the Town Was on Fire 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 335 

wines and the like inflammable articles would be 
certain to scatter the conflagration at the very- 
start far and wide, and, in the end, would wrap 
every building in flames. 

, Again Colonel Withers protested, and this time 
successfully. But that night, after he had gone to 
bed, he was awakened with the news that the 
largest store-house in the town was on fire. Leap- 
ing from his bed, and hardly stopping to put on all 
his clothes, he hastened to the General's head- 
quarters, and in language that was not at all minced 
reproached him with violating his promise. But in 
this he was unjust, for the General proved to him 
that the fire had been caused, not by a match set 
to the outside of the storehouse, but by an explo- 
sion of alcohol within it; the men with candles, who 
were staving in the barrels, had inadvertently 
knocked in the head of a cask of alcohol, and the 
vapor, at once igniting, had thrown the whole in- 
terior of the building into flames that could not be 
put out. The explosion had instantly killed the 
officer who was superintending the work of destruc- 
tion. As the night was calm, the fire was prevented 
from spreading to the surrounding houses. 

Within a few days, the General and his cavalry- 
men rode away to North Carolina. But hardly had 
they vanished, when many of the soldiers who had 
been paroled at Appomattox began to arrive in 



336 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

town on their way to their homes in the States 
situated further south. Throughout the winter and 
early spring, these men had been cooped up in the 
trenches of Petersburg, where they had endured the 
most acute hardships from lack of proper food and 
clothing. When the retreat began, they expected to 
find a large supply of rations awaiting them at 
Amelia Court-House; but when they reached that 
place the only provisions which they had to eat 
were the scanty quantity that had been obtained 
by scouring the already famished countryside. 

Nor did their situation improve in this respect as 
they marched towards Appomattox; the intervening 
region, being sparsely inhabited and poorly culti- 
vated, furnished only the slimmest rations for the 
men and the most meagre forage for the horses. In 
the history of war, few great armies have come as 
near actual starvation as this one did in the last 
stage of the retreat; and it was not until the sur- 
render had taken place, and the contents of the 
supply trains, intercepted by the Federal cavahy, 
had been distributed among the soldiers, that they 
at last got enough to satisfy their hunger. 

The country between Appomattox and Danville, 
through which many of the disbanded Confederates 
were compelled to pass on their way homeward, 
was never a thickly populated region; it was, in 
fact, divided for the most part into large estates. 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 337 

which had been thoroughly drained of wheat, corn, 
and hay by the long trains of canvas-topped wagons 
that gathered up supplies for the army. It happened 
that the end of the war came, not only when all 
the crops of the previous season had been carried 
off, but also when the crops of the new either had 
not ripened or had not even been planted, and, in 
consequence, the numerous bodies of returning 
soldiers, straggling along the public roads, could find 
but little to eat. Whatever they were able to pick 
up was obtained by side excursions that only served 
to increase the fatigue of their long journey. 

It was not long before several thousand men, who 
had, for many months, been enduring all the hard- 
ships of positive hunger, had congregated in Dan- 
ville as one of the stages in their journey southward. 
That town, being at a distance from the scenes of 
the campaigns in Virginia and the West, had be- 
come, as has been already pointed out, a centre for 
the accumulation of many kinds of supplies. The 
needs of seven thousand prisoners alone required a 
large quantity of food and clothing to satisfy. Re- 
port, naturally enough when men were feeling the 
pinch of starvation, exaggerated the volume of 
stores that were lying behind the walls of the Gov- 
ernment warehouses. Did not all know that, so far 
as Virginia at least was concerned, the Confederacy 
was now entirely defunct? Had not its repre- 



338 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

sentative, at the head of an armed detachment, en- 
deavored, a few days before, in obedience to his 
orders, to destroy these stores by the use of the 
torch? If left untouched, would they not be soon 
seized by the Federal advance guard and consumed 
by the Federal soldiers and the released Federal 
prisoners? 

"We are hungry, we are in tatters," was the cry 
of the disbanded soldiers. "This food, these clothes, 
are as much ours as anybody's at this moment. 
We need them, and we propose to take them. 
There is nobody who has any right to stand in our 
way." 

Now it happened that the families that inhabited 
the surrounding country had suffered, during the 
previous winter, almost as many hardships as the 
soldiers in the ranks. They had known what it 
was to be gnawed by a hunger which they were 
unable to appease owing to the impoverishment of 
their own larders. Many forms of food, common 
enough before the war, had long ago entirely van- 
ished, and it had been a frequent experience with 
all to lack at times even cornbread and meat. Nor 
were they in a better condition as to clothes; all 
that they possessed had been manufactured by their 
own hands out of the coarsest home-produced 
material. Want had stared at them from their own 
door sills, and it was doing so at the hour of the 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 339 

Confederacy's collapse more sinisterly than at any 
previous moment. They too had heard the exag- 
gerated rumors touching the contents of the Dan- 
ville warehouses, and so they determined that they 
would go to town in a body and share in the ex- 
pected distribution. On their arrival there, they at 
once fraternized with the famished soldiery and ac- 
companied them from warehouse to warehouse. 

"This one," they said, "is full of shoes. You 
have only to break in the doors to obtain all that 
you need to cover your half naked feet. That ware- 
house across the street is full of clothes. You can 
find there all the coats and trousers you require. 
The warehouse beyond that one is full of meat and 
flour. There is enough there to satisfy the appetite 
of a small army." 

Was it singular, that, under such seductive guid- 
ance, the soldiers, egged on also by their own urgent 
needs, should have begun to batter in the doors 
which were to open up such abundance? But when 
they had staved in the thick panels, they found the 
interiors of the storehouses either entirely empty 
or filled with articles that would neither satisfy their 
hunger nor clothe their bodies. 

Disappointment caused the demoralization to 
spread. There was now danger that the private 
homes would be invaded, their furniture damaged in 
the confusion, the wardrobes rifled, the supplies of 



340 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

food consumed, and the families terrified. The 
Mayor, very muen alarmed, summoned the town 
Council to meet at once. The first question con- 
sidered was: should Colonel Withers be asked to 
put himself at the head of the community and re- 
store order? He was Imown to be a man of extra- 
ordinary firmness and courage, and all minds turned 
to him instinctively. But it was suggested that, 
should he be given absolute power, he would cer- 
tamly declai'e martial law and every citizen would 
be compelled by him to do guai'd duty. The 
council broke up after adopting only one measure 
of defense, — the police force of tlie town was to be 
immediatelj'- increased. 

By tlie following morning, the spirit of disorder 
had become more rampant because the pangs of 
hmiger had had twelve hours within which to grow 
shai'per. \\liat was simply tlu'eatened yesterday 
by the mob, they now attempted to cai'ry out. 
Wlien they stai'ted off for the private houses in 
seai'ch of the bread, bacon, and sugai* which they 
presumed was to be found in the store-rooms, a 
returned soldier of great size and formidable aspect 
quicklj^ put himself at their head, and under his 
leadei-ship, they crowded into the first house and 
rifled it of everj?- scrap of food which it contained. 

News of this action of the mob soon came to 
Colonel Witliei*s at the Confederate prison. He 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 341 

promptly formed a squad from among the members 
of the guard, and followed by them, with their guns 
prepared for instant use, started on the run for the 
spot. When he arrived there, the leader of the mob 
had been arrested, and the mob itself dispersed by 
the Mayor of the town, with the aid of a large 
body of policemen. But so soon as the disorderly 
assemblage was broken up in one place, it would 
come together again in another, with the same 
threat of rifling the private houses of clothes and 
food. 

Later in the afternoon. Colonel Withers was again 
hastily summoned. He was informed that several 
thousand disbanded soldiers, who had just arrived 
on two trains, were breaking into the houses in the 
vicinity of the station, in their search for something 
to eat and wear. On reaching the spot, he found 
to his relief that they had only entered the Armory 
and Arsenal; and that they had done this at the 
instance of the country people, who had told them 
that these buildings contained large quantities of 
the articles which were so much desired. But so 
soon as they had seen that neither flour, bacon, nor 
clothes were stored there, they had returned to the 
station. When Colonel Withers, going among them, 
earnestly remonstrated with them for committing 
such an act of violence, so foreign to their military 
record, 



342 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

"We cannot help it," they rephed, "we are really- 
starving. You can see we are almost in rags. Un- 
less you can persuade the railway superintendent to 
forward our trains southward, it will be impossible 
to control the men. They must have food, and get 
it they will, even if they have to go through the 
private houses for it." 

"Why don't you dispatch these soldiers' trains 
right away," demanded Colonel Withers of the 
superintendent, to whose office he had gone at once. 

"The railroad employees are so demoralized," was 
the answer, "that they cannot be induced to even 
pump the water into the tender. They have pretty 
well all disappeared." 

Colonel Withers returned at once to the station, 
and mounting to a platform, which brought him 
into the full view of the great throng of soldiers, 
cried out at the top of his voice: 

"Attention! Who will come forward to pump 
water for the engine?" 

Several men immediately spoke up. 

"We started to pump, but just as soon as we 
began, the crowd rushed into the cars, and when 
we saw that no room would be left for us, we 
stopped." 

"I will post guards at the door of each car," re- 
plied Colonel Withers, "and not a man shall be 
allowed to enter until you have finished pumping 
and been admitted to your seats." 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 343 

The tank was soon full of water; the men who 
had pumped it in v/alked into the cars ahead of 
their comrades; the engineer got up steam; and the 
train fairly bursting with its bronzed, tattered, half- 
starving passengers rolled slowly away southward. 
At once, Colonel Withers directed his attention to 
starting the second train, but while he was so en- 
gaged, a loud explosion occurred, followed by others 
in rapid succession. Immediately, the country 
people, who had collected in large numbers on the 
outskirts of the crowd of soldiers still occupying the 
station, raised the cry: 

"The Yankees have come. They are shelling the 
town, they are shelling the town. Run, run." 

The rustics took to their heels; nor did they pause 
until they had gone far on the road to their rural 
homes, — a fortunate riddance, as they had, during 
tv/o days, been solely employed in egging on the 
soldiery in their search for food and clothing which 
did not exist. The explosion had really taken place 
at the Arsenal. That building was full of shells, 
cartridges, and other munitions, and as the separ- 
ate stores caught on fire in turn, the heavy reports, 
following at short intervals, caused the impression 
that both cannon and musketry had been used in 
an attack on the town. When the soldiers, finding 
no food or clothing in the Arsenal, had abandoned 
it, a band of boys and young men had crept inside 



344 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

to obtain powder and firearms, and, while engaged 
in rummaging about among the piles, had dropped 
a match or cigai', which had caused the series of 
explosions. Not one escaped alive in the desti'uction 
which ensued. 

So great was the confusion that now pre%'ailed 
in all parts of the town, and so general was the 
alarm felt by the citizens, that there ^s'as an urgent 
demand for another meeting of the comicil and the 
adoption of the sternest methods for enforcing public 
order. The comicil assembled and at once decided 
to request Colonel "Withers to take absolute control 
over the entire community as the only com*se that 
seemed to otfer the smallest protection to life and 
property. The autocratic trust was immediately ac- 
cepted, and so energetically did he act that, within 
a few horn's, he had organized all the men and 
youtlis, from tlie age of sixteen to that of fifty, into 
squads of twentj'; and at each feriy, ford, and 
bridge leading into the town from the country' on 
tlie rivei"«ide, and at the head of each street on the 
open rural side, he stationed one of these squads, 
with orders to bai* the entrance of every human 
being who might attempt to come in. 

It was a ^^ise precaution, for only a short time 
after these guards were posted, large bands of 
comitiy people, eager for booty and relieved of all 
alai'm about the supposed bombai'dment, began to 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWX 845 

retuni to the town on foot, horseback, and in farm 
wagons. Thej'' were everywhere lialted by the 
squads, who, lifting their muskets to theu' shoulders, 
threatened to shoot the fii'st person who crossed 
the dead line. Though exposed to a shower of dis- 
appointed curses, they held back the excited crowd 
until the latter perceived that they could not enter 
the town except by the sacrifice of the lives of hun- 
dreds of theii' own number; and under the influence 
of this comdction they sullenly turned their faces 
homewai'd. The gi'eatest danger that had threatened 
the community was, by theii' reluctant retreat, com- 
pletely averted, for the disbanded soldiers who re- 
mained in the town, ha\'ing never desired to appro- 
priate any articles except food and clothes, which 
they so sorely needed, were satisfied as far as pos- 
sible in their wants, and assisted to continue their 
jouniey towards theu' homes. 

There was now only one additional peril in sight 
to be pro\dded against. How was the town to be 
protected from the depredations of the Federal 
prisoners, should thej^ succeed in breaking through 
theu' walls? There were eight thousand of these 
men, who had barely kept soul and body together 
on their short rations, and theii' humor could not 
be trusted, should they be able to strike off their 
shackles. They were now overawed only by small 
squads of new guards, for the trained ones had 
gone of! with the disbanded Confederate soldiers. 



346 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

Before this peril could become a reality, the town 
was confronted by a new and entirely unexpected 
danger, which had to be proriiptly faced and re- 
moved. It was reported to Colonel Withers that 
a large body of Federal bummers, who had been 
hanging on the skirts of the Federal army, were 
rapidly approaching Danville in open cars propelled 
by crank or pole over the metals of the railway 
from Richmond. How was this new peril to be 
met? If these men were allowed to enter the town, 
they would commit the very wrongs which had 
been staved off so successfully during the last few 
days, — they would rob and burn, without the slight- 
est chance of redress on the part of those who suf- 
fered. All the trained guards, as we have seen, had 
departed, and the untrained squads were needed to 
overawe the prisoners and the country people. 

Colonel Withers telegraphed General Wright the 
character of the situation, but the General, who was 
expected to pass through Danville on his way to 
join Sherman in North Carolina, replied that it 
would be impossible to send any assistance; and that 
he must take such steps for the protection of the 
town as he thought proper. 

When this non-committal response was received, 
the bummers were reported to be only twelve miles 
off. Colonel Withers, not at all discouraged, made 
up a squad composed entirely of the petty officers 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 347 

who had charge of the guards at the prison, men 
who had been chosen for that position of extreme 
responsibility on account of their superior firmness 
and intelligence. It was just such a body as he 
needed in this new crisis; and putting himself at 
their head, he marched them straight to the station, 
where the bummers were now momentarily expected. 
The squad numbered only twenty men. Their 
leader posted them on either side of the track just 
where it entered the town, in a position to command 
its length for a considerable distance. 

Soon the first car rolled into view. The bummers, 
who occupied it, held their muskets between their 
knees as they sat sideways around the platform. 
They presented a very forbidding and threatening 
aspect as they were ordered to come to a full stop 
between the two files. 

"Throw down your arms," cried out Colonel 
Withers, "or you are dead men." 

The members of the squad raised their revolvers 
and took aim. 

The bummers, assuming an air of defiance, began 
to offer a noisy remonstrance at such interference. 

"Not one word," exclaimed Colonel Withers, 
"throw down your arms and surrender or your 
lives are the forfeit." 

There was no mistaking the meaning of either the 
language or the attitude of this tall determined 



348 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

man in Confederate uniform. The bummers sul- 
lenly gave up their muskets, and under the pistol 
muzzles of a couple of the squad, were marched off 
to the prison. 

Hardly had they vanished down the nearest street 
when another car rolled in. The second company 
of bmnmers were arrested and subdued in the same 
resolute manner as the first, and followed their 
comrades to the prison. A third and fourth car 
appeared, and the passengers of each in their turn 
had the like history. Eighty bummers were soon 
cooling their heels under the ceiling of the same 
large apartment. Colonel Withers, who had re- 
mained at the station until convinced that the last 
car had come in, returned to the prison, and at once 
went to the room which was occupied by his latest 
captives. 

"What right have you to detain us," they ex- 
claimed, with an angry shout, as he entered, "the 
war is over." 

"I arrested you for your own sakes," he calmly 
replied. "You are not safe in this town. If I were 
to set you free, many of you and many of our citi- 
zens would be killed." 

Then turning to one among them who seemed to 
exercise some authority over them aU, he said: 

"General Wright telegraphs me that he will be 
here tomorrow with his troops. I know you would 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 349 

rather see the devil than to be turned over to him. 
Now if you will agree to remain quietly in the guard 
house tonight, I will guarantee you kind treatment, 
a good supper, and a release tomorrow morning early 
enough for you to leave town before the General 
arrives." 

They consented, although with undisguised re- 
luctance, to this arrangement, which was afterwards 
strictly carried out by Colonel Withers. He in- 
duced some of his friends among the town people to 
cook an excellent supper for his captives; they were 
made comfortable for the night under a strong guard; 
and next morning, when General Wright was an- 
nounced to be within a mile of Danville, they were 
released. They had vehemently demanded their 
freedom at dawn, but as they were suspected of an 
intention to commit as many depredations as pos- 
sible in the interval of license which this would give 
them, their request was promptly and positively 
refused. 

When the advance body of the Federal troops 
appeared, Colonel Withers and one of his officers 
bearing a flag of truce met them at the bridge which 
led into the town. They were received with court- 
esy by the commander, but were ordered to return 
to their quarters. It was with a feeling of relief 
that Colonel Withers obeyed, for at last all responsi- 
bility for the prisoners was shifted from his shoul- 



350 CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS 

ders. With the presence of Federal soldiers in the 
town, the danger of the captives running amuck 
when released was removed. 

An hour passed, and General Wright entered Colonel 
Withers's office at the prison. 

"I understand, Colonel," he said, "that you have 
about one hundred of my men in custody in your 
guard house." 

"A mistake. General. I have no one in the guard 
house now." 

"Strange. I heard it as I thought from a reli- 
able source." 

"Well, General, I did have them there last night, 
but I turned them loose" this morning." 

"What did you do that for? I would have sup- 
posed an officer of your rank would have had no 
sympathy with such a lot of bummers. I would 
have given anything in reason to have got hold of 
them." 

"I too would have been glad, as I had not the 
slightest desire to shield them. You advised me to 
do the best I could, and I did so. As they kept 
their part of the bargain, I was bound to keep 
mine." 

A provost-marshal was at once appointed to take 
charge of the town, and within a few hours, the 
many thousand prisoners were set free. No dis- 
order, no indulgence in excesses of smy kind, followed 



THE COLONEL SAVED THE TOWN 351 

their release. They remained in the vicinity until 
trains were brought up to afford them a passage to 
their homes in the North. 

Colonel Withers had saved Danville from the 
looting country people, from the famished Confed- 
erate soldiers, from the marauding Federal bum- 
mers, and finally from the possible depredations of 
thousands of hungry and angry captives. Deter- 
mination, firmness, courage, promptness, — these were 
the great qualities which he had shown in the 
difficult and perplexing situation in which he was 
placed, and they entitled him to as much honor as 
the coolness and bravery which he had always dis- 
played on the field of battle. 



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